Crisis Point
by Legend Maker
Summary: There can be no better way of knowing, in a world beyond controlling...are you going to deny the savior right in front of your eyes? Are you, heroes? Titans? Alien? THEN YOU WILL ALL FALL.
1. The Story: Crisis Point

**_Crisis Point_**

Writer's Opening Note: Only read this story if you can dedicate some time and thinking energy to it.

You see, in this story, I am combining the DC worlds of television and comics to tell a modified version of a tale DC is, as of this writing, telling in its comics universe. The explanation for this tale is long and immensely complicated, and if you do not read comics, or if you only read them occasionally, then chances are you will be confused, more likely a lot then a little.

So I have provided an explanation. It is in the chapter beyond this one. If you are a comic non-reader or rookie and wish to understand this story, read it. But as I said, have some free time and mental energy to devote. The world of comic books is an immensely complex one, often needlessly so, but them's the breaks. Besides, you might learn something.

I must point out I'll be inserting my own storylines, which are based on a comic/cartoon/original content fusion, in with the story, so you'll see some people being left out or changed a bit, and several Original Characters including a few playing major roles, so if anyone who DOES know comics comes in and goes "Hey, that's wrong!", it's because I changed it some. Hence, this story will go into a little more detail and go a little longer then the actual comic it is based on. Hey, it makes it different! I would also like to note to any of my fans who read this: this is out of MY canon. In essence, it's a What-If: anything that happens here will not be reflected in my other work.

My thanks to the writer Geoff Johns, for without him, there would be no story. For what he did, I hope I will not screw up or Stu around his world, too much anyway.

So, if you're back here after having read the explanation, or if you already know the score, or if you've decided to take the risk and dive in headfirst, hold onto your butts.

Some will live. Some will die. And the world will never be the same.

* * *

The small town. 

Considering what field of fiction you read, either nothing ever happens here or it holds secrets so cursed and damning it would drain the color from any city-dweller's face.

But in this case, the former was in effect.

Which some may say was a miracle in and of itself.

It called itself Smallville, a small town in the state of Kansas. And one day, many years ago, a rocket had crash-landed in one of its fields. A couple found the rocket, and what it contained.

It was a baby, who would become the mightiest, greatest hero in all of history. For that 'sin' alone, you would think a reactionary curse would be brought against the small town.

But no. For the most part, the town remained as peaceful as it had been forty years ago. No great chaos came to destroy it. No wrath wiped it from the face of the Earth. No revenge scoured it from the globe. It was, then and now, safe.

Until two minutes ago, when the last thing anyone, especially a young teenage boy plagued with doubts and fears, could have ever expected, even in the state the world was at the moment, happened.

* * *

He moved so fast the human eye could barely follow, if any human eyes dared to try when they should have been fleeing for their lives. And it was not a voluntary movement. It was the reaction to a violent one inflicted on his person. 

As Conner Kent, known to the world as Superboy, crashed through the apparatus of a car-carrying 18-wheeler, shattering the metal skeleton and sending cars tumbling to the pavement as he himself flew on.

As a figure, so fast, so powerful, was there to snatch up the falling cars before they hit the pavement and hoist them into the air like they weighed nothing.

"I don't know how you ever got away with it." The figure said. His voice was not quite a snarl, but there was rage in there, rage…and underneath, the undertone of righteousness. But not the righteousness of the just, though he certainly thought it was. Rather, it was the kind of righteousness that inspired men to put nations to the sword, to torture and murder those who they saw as sinful, to inflict pain and suffering in the name of the supposed greater good, when the only good it did was to enforce the doer's warped values. History had seen many of these men.

But never one quite like this, for he wore the visage and attire of what many would see as the greatest qualities of the human race. The skintight blue outfit with the red shorts, boots, and flowing cape, with a large yellow S emblazoned across his chest. It was Superman…except this man, this child, couldn't be any older then 15 or 16. He was Superboy…except the teenager he had just sent crashing through the trailer truck was also Superboy, and had laid claim to that name for a number of years.

Therein lay the heart of the issue of the dark righteousness in the caped Superboy's words. For now, we shall call him Superboy-Prime: the reason will be revealed later.

As Superboy-Prime was hurling one of the cars at Superboy like a bullet, the vehicle striking him like a meteor, and even as it did Superboy-Prime continued his seemingly damning indictment.

"You fooled everyone into thinking you were actually Superboy!" Superboy-Prime accused, even as he hoisted the second car, the first car not even done fully crashing into Superboy.

"You don't even have a CAPE!"

And he hurled the second car, sending it crashing into the first and sending the whole mess careening down to the ground, engulfing Superboy in an explosion of twisted steel and raging flame.

But he was Superboy, after all. How could such a thing hurt him?

Because the one throwing the cars had preceded that blow with many others…utterly devastating, unbelievably powerful blows.

Superboy had faced strong threats before. He had gone toe to toe with superpowered androids and the rogue offspring of dark gods and human beings, with supernaturally empowered psychopaths and men armed with weapons that could seemingly rend countries in half. He had been hurt. He had been knocked down.

But he had never been so thoroughly and utterly dominated in his life. And even as he tried to struggle through the wreckage of the cars, he found it wasn't over.

As the fist came down, slamming into his face, a face that could in theory be struck with a bullet train and cause the train to give instead of his head. Instead, it caused blood to explode from his now shattered nose.

* * *

His name was Conner Kent, and he wondered not only what had happened, but how it had gone so wrong, so quickly. 

Maybe it was his punishment, for Conner was far from normal. Years ago, when Superman had been thought dead, Conner had been cloned from his cells to try and replace him. But not just Superman's cells. Another's as well. A man who not only would be willing to exploit it but knew the best ways to do so.

And even thought he'd fought back from the control, the horror and shame at what he had done, so easily, so brutally, without a second thought or a shred of regret, had sent him fleeing from his friends and back to the farm, where once a couple named Jonathon and Martha Kent had raised a baby found in a rocket to be the mightiest hero ever and a paragon for truth and justice across the entire universe: Superman. And now, with Superman's help, they were trying to give Conner a spectre of a normal childhood by raising him supposedly as Clark Kent's cousin. Now the farm acted as his penance, or rather, where he sat and let his overwhelming guilt and doubt control him, wondering how he could be a hero again, how he ever could have thought he was a hero, how he could ever help people once more. Even after his friends had tried to help him, with images and words and promises, and a gift, he could not shake the remorse.

And there he had stayed, even as the world seemed to fall apart around him. He stayed, and he sat, and he did nothing.

Until he had finally stepped outside scant minutes before, planning to do some yard work…and found another Superboy waiting for him.

This Superboy did indeed wear a cape: he looked more like a younger clone of Superman then Conner ever did. And he claimed that he was Conner's replacement.

And as Conner had stood in disbelief, that Superboy had, after a moment of hesitation, laid into Conner, telling him to admit that he had given up. Telling him that he, who Conner had never seen before in his life, was the Superboy that the world needed.

And though Conner would not admit it, part of what that Superboy had said had rang true. Conner had given up. He had let his lesser emotions control him.

But even as he heard this Superboy speak, he knew that even if it that was true, everything else he said rang false. He claimed that he was what the world needed…but Conner had spent enough time around heroes, including his older clone, to know the difference when they spoke between when someone claimed they would do something for the world and when they claimed they would do something for themselves. And with Conner, the latter came through in the caped Superboy's words loud and clear.

Maybe he wasn't a hero…but the Superboy standing before him was no shining beacon of light either. And he looked ludicrous, and Conner made sure, in equivalent words, to tell him that, and then to back off.

And it all went downhill from there, as with a scream of "YOU'RE NOT SUPERBOY!", the caped Superboy had hit him, sending him flying away from the Kent farm.

And it had hurt. It had hurt like hell. And Superboy was immensely hard to hurt. He may not have worn a cape, but he still possessed strength and invulnerability on the higher scale of such things. It took a lot of power for a blow to hurt.

But this Superboy had a lot of power. Indeed, he had more power then Conner could believe, as he tore through Smallville, turning it into his personal war ground as he ranted that he was the real Superboy. Even when Conner had snapped and fought back with everything he had, Superboy, or Superboy-Prime, had laid waste to him, as easily as Superboy could have laid waste to a normal human if he'd been inclined to pick a fight with one.

And Superboy-Prime wasn't done yet, and Superboy knew he was finished. He'd know it for a bit.

But he had access to tricks up his sleeve that he wagered that the so-called real Superboy didn't…

* * *

As Superboy-Prime rained down fists on Superboy, splitting his lip and blackening his eye. Conner coughed. 

Seizing him by his shredded black shirt, Superboy-Prime lifted Conner overhead, perhaps to inflict more punishment or perhaps to scream once more that he was what the world needed, the real Superboy. He never did, as Conner's cough turned into a low, brief chuckle.

"…What?" Superboy-Prime said, as he lowered Conner a bit, his fist still cocked back…as Conner smiled, a smile that was more like a wince actually, but clear enough.

"What are you **_smiling_** about?" Superboy-Prime growled.

And Conner showed him, as he opened up his hand.

To reveal a large, circular yellow communicator, a large T on it…and a red pattern of lights flashing on it. How Conner had kept it from being smashed in the battle, nobody knew. But it had clearly been on for some time.

A fact that became abundantly clear as a golden lasso dropped down from the sky and yanked Superboy from Superboy-Prime's grip.

* * *

There are many Titans throughout the world, some official, some honorary, some offshoots, some acquaintances and some who just got ahold of a communicator and liked the idea of being part of something. And despite any question of legitimacy, they were all connected via their communicators. 

When the red alert emergency signal begins flashing on all communicators, and does not turn off within ten to fifteen seconds to indicate error, one takes notice.

When said signal is traced and found to belong to Superboy's communicator, a metahuman with the power to destroy mountains and smash cities to ruin with his bare hands, signaling that it's a threat so grave that even he had to activate the highest distress signal, one takes it very seriously.

And when this is happening during a time when Armageddon seems at hand, when the world was racked by crisis after crisis, a seemingly infinite number of them…you don't just bring the cavalry.

You bring the whole damn battalion.

* * *

As Superboy-Prime turned to find himself face to face with not one, not two, but THREE separate superhero teams. 

(Warning: Repetition ahead.)

The Doom Patrol: The superpowered misfits! They were led by Robotman, the mighty android, and included Elastigirl, the size changing giantess, Negative Man, commander of a powerful energy self, and its two just joined members: Grunt, a powerful ape creature with four arms, and Nudge, a young girl with undefined psychic powers.

The Justice Society: The best of the best! In the dawning era of World War II, they were the first superhero team and now, even many years later, still one of the greatest. Led by Mr. Terrific, the technological wizard, they were Wildcat, grizzled but expert hand to hand fighter, Hourman, commander of enhanced strength and speed from the Miraclo formula, Dr. Mid-Nite, brilliant physician who could see in pitch black and almost command it, The Flash I, Jay Garrick, the very first Scarlet Speedster, Sand, possessing a body composed of silicon and absolute control over it, Stargirl, heir apparent of the Starman legacy and wielder of the mighty Cosmic Rod, and STRIPE, aka mechanic Pat Dugan, who had fought crime for decades and continued to do so in a mighty mechanical suit.

But in a way, they had only been brought as backup. This battlefield truly belonged to the young.

For before Superboy was seemingly every Titan ever assembled, including short-lived Titans, unofficial offshoots, and acquaintances of the Titans who were only too happy to come along for the ride. Hell, even Duella Dent, the dangerously bipolar sometimes hero who called herself the Joker's Daughter (was she? Who knew) was there, and she'd been a Titan back in the dark ages for about two minutes.

The Teen Titans: Adolescent Avengers! And their friends…

The Elementals: Once heroes, turned villains, and in crisis, once again heroes! Scorcher, master pryokinetic! Floral, commander of mother nature! Zippy, electrically charged speedster! Rocko, with a form and mastery of stone! And Platinum Blonde, with a body of superstrong organic metal!

The Superhero Club: From the city of Ubertron, a place overflowing with metahumans, comes a cadre of their best and brightest…or well technically they're the Titan Gauntlet's friends. Paragon, the leader, the superstrong flying golden girl! Legend, the alien cloned from an immensely powerful otherdimensional warrior and growing into her own great powers! Evil John, who as you may have guessed wasn't really a hero, but he went where his friends did, commander of immensely powerful energy blasts! Crazed-Buzz, commanding a bee-themed mechanized assault outfit! And Bio-Weapon, master of explosives!

And the Titans themselves…

Honorary Titans: Wildebeest, mighty manimal! Hotspot, walking flamethrower! Red Star, living solar power and might! Pantha, strong and ferocious warrior! Bushido, noble samurai! Killowat, human dynamo! And while some had been unable to come, their numbers had been shorn up by older honorary Titans: Flamebird, would be vigilante warrior! Mirage, master of disguise and trickery! And down in Australia, Argent, commander of silver plasma energy, had recently assembled her own team of would be Titans, who were low in experience but high in courage: Risk, mutant with great strength, speed, and stamina! Prysm, a shining girl with vast light controlling powers! And Fringe, a brutish monster with great strength and a psychic shield protecting him from harm! And finally, Wonder Girl, wielder of powers from the gods themselves and a lasso from the War God Ares, who had just rescued Superboy, another honorary Titan. Not to mention Kid Flash, whose command of the Speed Force had allowed the massive group to assemble so swiftly.

Titans East: Mas Y Menos, the superfast twins! Aqualad, commander of the ocean and all in it! Speedy, master with a bow and armed with a million arrows! And Bumblebee, the shrinking, stinging leader who had the bee-themed costume before others started ripping her off!

And the actual Teen Titans. While some had been called away, taken on an urgent mission for reasons unknown, the rest had come, and they had come prepared. Even Sophie Matthews had come, though she was little more then a live-in to the Titans and had only come to assist her boyfriend with the wounded.

Robin, the Teen Wonder!

Beast Boy, master of the animal kingdom!

Raven, the dark master sorceress and commander of mystical energies!

Terra, supreme geokinetic!

Viridian, ultra-advanced android and walking tank!

Gauntlet, wielder of an ancient and superpowered artifact!

Scalpel, superstrong alien Blacktrinian armed with alien bladed instruments of destruction!

And…(couldn't resist) Savior, commander of the Shimmer power, a nervous system based energy that granted him strength, agility, reflexes, and ever shifting weapons and tactics, a jack of all trades and a master of quite a few!

* * *

They were all there, assembled in response to the emergency call. Indeed, so many Titans had come they looked more like their far future counterparts from the 31st century, the Legion of Super Heroes. 

A group that, in another world, another timeline, another existence altogether, Superboy had once belonged to. And Superboy-Prime probably wished he WAS facing the Legion. Their membership tended to top off at 20, 30 max.

Superboy-Prime was face to face with over fifty superheroes.

And every single one of them, battered by endless battles, torn and ransacked by seemingly never-ending disasters, tired of watching people die because they were doing everything they could and it still wasn't enough, was in a foul mood.

Superboy-Prime stared, just for another second.

And then Beast Boy landed before him, transforming into the nastiest Utahraptor he could muster.

"TITANS, TOGETHER!"

* * *

**Rape**  
_ n._

1. The crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse.  
2. The act of seizing and carrying off by force; abduction.  
3. To plunder or pillage.  
4. What proceeded to happen to Superboy-Prime.

As roughly forty heroes proceeded to jump Superboy-Prime all at once, barraging him with their weapons, powers and fists, burying him under a tidal wave of wrath. How the heroes managed to avoid tripping over themselves, or shooting or striking each other, was a miracle in and of itself.

"…cassie…?" Superboy whispered through his swollen lips, looking up the golden haired beauty who had pulled him free, who he had such strong feelings for, feelings that had not protected her from harm when he had been controlled, the shame of which had caused him to flee…and in the end, perhaps it hadn't mattered. He had called, and she had come. With lots of friends.

"I brought the Titans Conner. Beast Boy brought the Doom Patrol. Kid Flash brought the Justice Society and the Titan offshoots. Who **_is_** he?" Wonder Girl asked, looking at Superboy-Prime, or what could be seen of him under the mass of heroes trying to pound him into mush.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Superboy-Prime screamed, even as Beast Boy got in for his attack and tried to snack on the teen kryptonian's chest. "I'm not a **_bad guy!_**"

Some feet away, a group of heroes that had held themselves back swiftly gathered, assessing the scene.

"All right Holt. We're here. Superboy's clear. Now what do we do?" Robin asked, addressing Mr. Terrific, who was not only the chairman of the JSA but a bonifide genius. Robotman was there too, and suddenly so was Kid Flash.

"…Bart, wasn't it?" Mr. Terrific asked. Kid Flash nodded. "Gather the other speed…"

Before Mr. Terrific could even finish his word they were there, the young twins Mas Y Menos and the superfast Elemental Zippy (though her power was natural and hence much slower, but fast enough), as well as Holt's own teammate Jay Garrick, the very first Flash. Mr. Terrific, for his part, took it in remarkable stride.

"Get everyone in the town clear. This could…"

"More then clear."

Savior dropped down to the group, having held back as well. Raven was with him, her large ornate cloak swirling in the wind.

"Pardon my temerity sir, but I think they should get the people in this town not just out of it, but as far away as possible. I have a feeling this is going to get REALLY ugly…" Savior said, glancing to the side where the mass of heroes continued their assault.

"…Good point kid. Jay, Bart, you guys, get everyone to safety. We'll handle this." Mr. Terrific said.

Famous last words.

"Get…get off me…" Superboy-Prime said from beneath his attackers.

"Let's go son." Flash I said to Kid Flash, who nodded.

"Onit!" Zippy said in her sped-up record way.

"Mas Y Menos! Si Podemos!" The speed demon twins declared, and with that all the speedsters were gone.

"Ok Robin, now what do we do…" Savior began.

And then it all went to hell.

"**_GET OFF!"_**

And a gigantic eruption of power and heat exploded from within the mass attack, as Superboy-Prime snapped and cut loose with a wide range blast of his heat vision, blowing away every single hero that was attacking him like they were ragdolls. Their bodies came crashing down all around, some landing well, some helping to catch others, and some, pardon the pun, crashing and burning. Some got up despite their injuries, others, agonizing from their burns, stayed down. But despite this great attack, the heroes were regrouped within seconds and attacking Superboy-Prime once again.

But this time was different. No longer confused and off-guard, Superboy-Prime was now fully ready to defend himself.

And he could do it very very well.

With little more then the tiniest shove, he hurled Hourman into Dr. Mid-Nite and Wildcat, knocking them down like bowling pins. The equivalent of a slap sent Robotman flying across the street and crashing into a car. A slight breath from between his lips blew half a dozen flying and swinging Titans and Stargirl from the sky, some of them crashing back to earth while others smashed through buildings. Gauntlet and Scalpel, backed up by Fringe, Aqualad, and Platinum Blonde, attacked on mass…and the only thing they managed to do was break one of Scalpel's blades on Superboy-Prime's shoulder before Superboy-Prime smacked them all away again, the sound of bones cracking lost under the racket of the battle. Mr. Terrific tried next, with Viridian, Mirage, Killowat, and Scorcher supporting him. Superboy-Prime fended then off within seconds, and it was clear even his lightest blows as he tried to defend himself were filled with unbelievable strength.

The streets shattered and buildings crumbled as the chaos of battle enveloped them.

And still the heroes came, as Negative Man and Grunt teamed up with STRIPE to try next, Negative Man wrapping his burning black energy form around him as Grunt and STRIPE attacked with their powerful fists.

"STOP HITTING ME!" Superboy-Prime yelled, backhanding Grunt and snapping most of the creature's ribs in the process as it flew off, even as Superboy-Prime tried to get STRIPE off him.

"You're the one breakin' bones in a mindless rage." STRIPE retorted, as he tried to retreat…too late, as Superboy-Prime got a grip on him.

"I just wanted to talk to Superboy." Superboy-Prime protested as he hurled the ten-ton robot through the air like he was a piece of cotton, as STRIPE crashed into Elastigirl's giant form and sent them both tumbling to the ground, even as Superboy tried to rip Negative Man's energy form from him, the burning touch of the black being doing absolutely nothing, finally tearing it free as the creature retreated to rejoin with its host.

"YOU started this!" Superboy-Prime yelled, even as Pantha landed nearby and charged.

" 'You started this'?" Pantha quoted back as she leapt. "He's just a stupid KID."

"I'M NOT STUPID!" Superboy-Prime yelled, as he began to turn.

With great power comes great responsibility, as another hero immortally said. And with great power must also come great control, in any task.

A teenage boy with great power and a sense of righteousness has little control.

A deluded teenage boy, even less so.

And a deluded teenage boy overflowing with rage at being attacked, like he was a villain, by a legion of C-listers at that…has no control at all.

As he turned and struck out at Pantha.

He didn't knock her down, or out.

He knocked her head clean off her shoulders.

Blood sprayed, as the body collapsed by Superboy, the head bouncing off across the ground.

"I…" Was all Superboy had gotten out before the terrible deed, as he looked in shock at his hands, now covered in blood.

"…Oh no." He whispered, as what he had done fully struck him, agony etching across his face. "…I didn't mean to do that."

The head of Pantha, killed so suddenly and viciously, bounced across the ground, landing near Wildebeest and Red Star. They too, stared in horror for a second.

And then they turned their eyes to the still shocked Superboy-Prime, and whatever he had meant to do no longer matter. In one moment, he had taken things to the next level.

As all the standing heroes saw the body, saw the head, saw the death. They saw.

Raven, who had held back still, felt a chain reaction of outrage and fury sweep through all the heroes. It was too late to turn back now.

Now the heroes wanted blood.

"You will **_BURN_** for that." Red Star snarled, as his whole body ignited in radiant solar flame, even as Wildebeest bellowed in fury.

"No…wait…I…didn't want…to…" Superboy-Prime protested,

"**_GET 'EM!"_** Terra screamed as her eyes glowed bright gold.

"I'm with you Terra!" Sand declared.

"As am I!" Rocko added, as the three heroes reached out and pooled their abilities, their differences swept away in their combined wrath.

And their power erupted beneath Superboy-Prime, a gigantic explosion of power from the earth that surpassed the energy released in any volcanic eruption in history, as the surge hurled Superboy-Prime into the air, battering his body with inconceivable force.

"Please!" He pleaded, more in his torment over what he had done then any pain the immense blast of geokinetic force had caused him, as tears leaked from his eyes, mixing with blood that wasn't his. "I said I didn't **_mean to!_**"

It didn't matter, as the massive earth attack was just the warm up.

As Superboy-Prime was immediately assaulted by the full force of every single energy and power blast and offensive weapon the gathered heroes could throw at him, a cataclysmic storm of holy fire that drove the teenager back into the ground and consumed him. Such an assault would have crippled if not outright annihilated any foe the heroes could have faced. It would have driven Darkseid himself, the dread lord of Apokolips and a legitimate god, to his knees.

It barely seemed to phase Superboy-Prime. Hell, the best it seemed to do was rip up his outfit a bit.

That factor didn't even register as the heroes charged in once more.

Even as Superboy-Prime's eyes, still leaking tears, flashed in a vast rage of his own.

**_"STOP!"_**

And Superboy-Prime slammed his forearms together, the power within both limbs combining and then erupting in a massive ultrasonic force wave that exploded around from around him. The ground beneath Superboy literally LIQUIFIED, while any normal hero standing next to the teen would have been reduced to a fine mist.

No one was standing directly next to him, but that barely helped.

Buildings around the battleground collapsed, while windows for miles around shattered, as virtually every hero was thrown away by the gigantic eruption of power, the vibrations actually causing bones to fracture and veins to burst in noses and eyes. Many went crashing back to the ground, some with added injuries and some with newly deliberating ones. Eardrums rang, while a few ruptured outright

But some were not taken down, through luck or skill, or both, and they did not hesitate in the slightest to resume the attack. One of their own had just died.

And most tragically, she was just the first.

* * *

"AIYEEEEEEE!" Mas Y Menos yelped as they went flying briefly: this might not be a concern except for the fact they were five miles from the battlefield and the shockwave from Superboy-Prime STILL knocked them over. It was a good thing they weren't carrying anyone. 

"Offf!" Zippy grunted: she had more weight on her and hence didn't lose her feet, though she stumbled violently before she came to a stop. A moment later, Kid Flash was next to her.

"WhattheheckwasthatitsoundedlikeanH-bombgoingoff…" Zippy said. Kid Flash glanced worriedly at the battlefield.

"We can't do this for much longer! We have to help!"

* * *

"Why…" Superboy-Prime lamented in the midst of all his destruction. 

And then, bellowing in rage, Wildebeest was on him, trying to drive him to the ground and rip Superboy-Prime's head off in turn for what he had done to Pantha.

"Why are you making me?" Superboy-Prime bewailed, even as Wildebeest clawed for his eyes.

The rage returned, as Superboy-Prime fought back, slamming his hand into Wildebeest's chest with a loud crack of bone.

"**_WHY!_**"

And his heat vision ignited, and in full view of several still standing and shocked superheroes, he blew a hole straight through the man-creature, as Wildebeest collapsed, dead.

"NO!" Red Star bellowed. "YOU…!"

Superboy-Prime's eyes turned, and with a brief exhale he blew off a gust of wind so cold it was frightening, engulfing Red Star, dousing his flame, and freezing him solid within a second, turning him into an ice statue.

And in the distance, Raven watched in horror. It was going from bad to worse. It was turning into a massacre. It was…

"Raven." Savior said, and Raven glanced at her love.

His expression was pure ice itself. Raven didn't need to be an empath to know what that meant. Savior was an aspiring tactician, and he'd been holding back, not getting involved, for his own reasons, and they weren't cowardice. And he'd arrived at another decision, and his expression of artic ire said it all.

"Get me in close. Around his guard." Savior said.

Raven nodded.

But even as Savior spoke, brave heroes closer to Superboy made their own moves, as Risk leapt in with a punch.

Superboy-Prime grabbed it, and for a moment Risk could only look at his face, a study in contradictions, incredible sorrow mixed with an anger so immense it threatened to consume them all.

"You're ruining everything!" Superboy-Prime wailed.

And then he tore Risk's right arm off at the shoulder, Risk screaming in agony as blood gouted from the stump, even as Superboy-Prime tossed him away.

"Everything…" Superboy-Prime cried, tears leaking down his cheeks, even as Platinum Blonde charged.

Superboy-Prime punched her, caving in the whole side of her face and sending her flying as well in a great gout of blood.

"You're ruining **_ME!_**" He lamented.

As Bushido, no fear in his heart even in the face of such a threat, leapt up in the air behind Superboy-Prime, bring his sword to bear.

And died a warrior, as Superboy-Prime turned and blasted the samurai in half with a blast of heat vision.

"You're making me **_LIKE YOU!"_** Superboy-Prime accused, as the sorrow finally started to fade completely, replaced only by the rage, the terrible unstoppable rage…as dark shadows swirled into existence behind him.

"Like us?" Savior spoke.

Savior's talent derived from an energy that had come from his nervous system after a combination of a supposedly deadly neurotoxin mixed with chemicals in paint and doused Savior, granting him a beneficial mutation. Its origin in his nervous system allowed the power, called the Shimmer, to act like a hookup to the nerve systems of other living beings. If Savior could connect his power to someone's brain, he could, so to speak, cross their wires. Or re-wire them. Or fix them. Or…if necessary…seize them and completely rip them all out.

As Savior slammed his hands onto Superboy-Prime's ears and sent the Shimmer shooting through his ear canals and into his skull.

"We're heroes. You're a murderer. The rest is semantics." Savior hissed, and proceeded to try and turn Superboy-Prime's brain into soup.

Superboy-Prime howled, thrashing around, everything confused in the sudden violation, Savior trying to hold on, but it wasn't a human brain, it was a Kryptonian brain, a similar base but also quite different, and Savior didn't have a blueprint, he had to try and poke around, and he didn't have the time…

"ARRRGGHHHHHHH!" Superboy-Prime bellowed, as he fought back, as Savior tried to rush, but he couldn't find the right commands…

Instead he found something else, something he didn't mean to.

As his brain was utterly flooded with information, as he accidentally 'downloaded' Superboy-Prime's life, memories, experiences, and beliefs…data that completely overwhelmed him and froze him in shock

Superboy-Prime seized his wrists.

"HEROES?"

The bones snapped, as Savior yelled in agony, his body instinctively pulling away, the Shimmer turning its task from destroying Superboy-Prime's brain to protecting its host, as it managed to get Savior's hands free from Superboy-Prime's wrists via leverage and sweat, as Savior staggered back, Superboy-Prime turning to him, murder in his eyes, as he swung…

Shadows consumed the two, and when they faded Superboy-Prime was alone.

"You call yourself…" Superboy-Prime snapped.

Just in time for Gauntlet to slam him into the ground with an energy-hammer.

* * *

"Ughhhh…" Robin groaned, as he limped over to where Wonder Girl and Superboy where, Wonder Girl staying out of the fight to try and help Conner. "Conner…Cass…we're getting our asses handed to us…he's killing us…" 

Superboy, the original, and battered as bad as any of the heroes, could only, for the moment, stare.

As nearby, Raven and Savior tumbled from Raven's teleport, Savior falling to his knees, his eyes as wide as saucers.

"Noel…here…" Raven said, taking Savior's wrists, gritting her teeth as his pain flowed into her body, even as the bones knitted together and Raven realized, in a way, the true pain wasn't in Noel's body. He'd seen something, and it had utterly floored him.

"My…god…" Savior whispered. "…He was right…"

"Who was right?"

"…Rob…he said that there was a multiverse…a crisis that united many worlds…didn't believe him…but…he was right…oh god…we're in the middle of something so big I don't know if all the heroes in the world can handle it…"

"Savior, snap out of it! We have to go back and fight!"

"Fight…how? Not like…Conner…older…stronger…oh god so much stronger, no limits…Raven, he pushed planets around…PLANETS…how can we possibly…fight something like that…"

"Having a crisis of faith, are we?"

The new voice snapped Savior out of his horror…because he recognized it. And it was one of the last voices he expected to hear, then of all times, as he turned to look.

Two new people stood nearby. One was in a simple red and purple costume with a full-face mask, a lean muscled figure with several jagged bolts coming from each side of his head. The other was a tall, statuesque blonde, dressed in a red shoulderless bodysuit with gold gauntlets, boots, and a long gauzy gold cape. She also looked quite nervous, as if she'd rather be somewhere else. The figure's mask hid his expression, but Noel had no need to know that. He knew who stood before him.

"Elijah." Savior growled.

"Well met, Titan." Said Elijah Versaw, teenaged Speed Force user and mass murderer (though he would argue they had all been bad and he'd had no choice), as he reached down and pulled back his mask to reveal it was indeed him, looking little different from when Savior had confronted him, an eternity ago. "Though I go by Scarz now. The Cauterize name…tends to tip people off."

"So you did escape back from the Speed Force." Savior said.

"My mom needed me. I could hardly stay away." Elijah said. "Looks like things are hardly going well for you."

* * *

Gauntlet would disagree from Elijah's statement, as he was leaping back, Scalpel with him and his friends from Ubertron behind him, as he formed a mock bugle and tooted it, irreverent as always, perhaps because he'd missed most of the carnage. 

"CHARGE!" He trumpeted.

Too bad for him, as Superboy-Prime's distress had completely vanished. It was if he now understood what he had to do.

"Heroes?" He snapped.

And then he slammed both hands down on the ground. The earth shook beneath him, as several of the Ubertron members lost their footing and stumbled, even as Bio-Weapon fell down completely and violently banged her head. She wasn't use to getting in brawls.

That probably saved her.

"You DARE call yourself HEROES?" Superboy-Prime yelled, as Gauntlet and Scalpel attacked him. He didn't even seem to feel their blows. "This world HAS NO HEROES! It's poisoned, corrupt! You call THESE heroes?"

Evil John blasted Superboy-Prime from afar. He completely no-sold it.

"These are what you call heroes?" Superboy-Prime continued to accuse, as he swatted an attacking Gauntlet away, his shield only barely protecting him as he crashed into Paragon, even as Superboy-Prime dodged an attacking Legend. "Backstabbers! Assassins! Violent thugs!"

With a roar, Scalpel leapt in, swinging his glaive…and breaking it on Superboy-Prime's chest. Nigel Hastings rolled with it, as he landed and spun, kicking Superboy-Prime in the chest again. It was like kicking a battleship. And Scalpel could kick through a battleship, as Superboy-Prime looked at him with utter disgust.

"AND MONSTERS!"

Superboy-Prime's fist went straight through Nigel, and he bellowed in pain, as his vitriolic blood splashed all over Superboy-Prime and hissed. It only seemed to make Superboy-Prime madder, as if it was affirming his claim.

"You're no HERO." Superboy-Prime said, looking into Scalpel's agonized eyes.

And found nothing there but burning defiance.

"And you would know…what a monster…TRULY IS." He hissed back as blood leaked from his mouth.

"ARRRRGGGHHHHHH!" Superboy-Prime screamed, as he whirled and hurled Scalpel off into the distance, the alien bellowing all the way.

"NIGEL!" Sophie shrieked, distracted from her duties of tending the wounded as her boyfriend was tossed up in the air and away like he was garbage, even as Superboy-Prime looked in disgust at the blood hissing on his arm, and then looked at Gauntlet. All the good humour was gone.

"You've crossed the line." Gauntlet snapped, as yellow energy flowed out from his namesake and formed into several cruel blades.

"Line? Line? What would YOU know of lines?" Superboy-Prime accused. "You and all your breed!"

The gauntlet-weapons slashed at Superboy-Prime: the teen once again swatted Gauntlet away like he was an insect…and then turned his attention to Crazed-Buzz as she zapped him with several charged power shots. His eyes burned red.

"I've had enough." He said.

"Ekkkkkkkkkkkk!" Crazed-Buzz shrieked, before Evil John landed in front of her.

"Get behind me Wendy! As for you…!" Evil John snapped.

Superboy's eyes fired blistering lines of power.

As Evil John retaliated with his own massive blasts from his hands.

Which the heat vision cut right through, a proverbial hot knife through butter.

The blast drilled straight through Evil John, who gave a surprised gurgle and collapsed.

Leaving Crazed-Buzz standing there…looking down in shock at the hole that was also in her chest. It had gone all the way through.

She died without a sound, falling next to Evil John.

"…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Paragon howled, as she charged.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" Superboy-Prime yelled.

His uppercut shook the earth, as he blasted Paragon off into the sky like she was a rocket, sending her flying off into the horizon.

"AMY! YOU BAST-!" Was all Gauntlet could yell before Superboy-Prime was on him.

"You made me do it! You and all your kind! You're not heroes!" Superboy-Prime snapped, and punched.

Gauntlet's shield energy could theoretically only be pierced if Gauntlet believed it could. And since Gauntlet had just seen two of his friends die and another, a particular dear one, get punched into the stratosphere, the last thing he believed was that he was going to fail.

But in aspects of sheer power…belief only went so far.

As the sheer feedback from the blow coursed back into the gauntlet as the artifact exploded, the outer skin blasted off as Gauntlet screamed and flew back, tumbling violently across the ground, leaving pieces of his weapon behind.

"You brought this on yourself! I'm tired of watching you, and I won't suffer your presence any…" Superboy-Prime said.

He should have been paying attention, for he'd neglected perhaps the mightiest member of the team.

As Legend crashed down on Superboy-Prime, driving him to the ground and pounding on him with berserk fury. And much like Superboy-Prime, her genetics held incredible power.

But as incredible as it was…it was leagues away from what was needed.

* * *

"My god…" Savior said, as he watched the carnage, unable to do anything: it all happened so fast. "I can't…make it stop…" 

"Oh come now hero, surely you don't think you've lost. Aren't you all never say die, and all that jazz?" Elijah asked. Savior turned furious eyes on him.

"Why the HELL are you here Elijah? We thought you were dead and gone. Why now?"

"If you haven't noticed hero, which would really be a feat of stupidity, the world's going to hell in a handbasket, and I'd let it…except I woke up this morning and found a bunch of blue robots on my island trying to kill me. After THAT, I decided that if the damn world wants to pick a fight with me, it won't be where I live. So here I am hero! What do you want ME to do, before I get bored and decide to leave?"

Savior grit his teeth.

"…Find Scalpel."

"The alien. He looked kinda dead."

"You ran things through him yourself, killer. He made it through that, he can make it through this if we…"

"Done." Elijah said. Savior narrowed his eyes: he hadn't seen Elijah move, though that hardly counted for anything, even as Legend and Superboy-Prime continued to exchange thundering blows.

"Go take Raven the-"

"Done." Elijah said, and indeed Raven was gone.

"All right then smartass, you're the Speed Force master, the supposed best in the world before Kid Flash handed you your ass…"

"I can go? Sure thing."

"WAIT DAMMIT! All right, if you're so strong, why don't you just yank some Deus Ex Machina out of your butt and stop him?"

"Right, I'll go hit the invincible Superkid…"

"Boy."

"SuperBOY a few million times. And while I'm at it, I think I will try and pound a mountain to dust with my bare hands! Just because I can hit something a whole bunch really quickly doesn't mean it will work. My hands will give long before his face does."

"Then vibrate your molecules and phase through him!"

"Why do you think I'm here Savior? I sensed other Speed Force users congregating here. Don't you think that since they came here before me, they'd have thought of the same thing? 'Hmmmmmm, ok, I'll phase through the body of the being whose cells are bursting with solar power, to the point where each cell is like a mini sun!'. That's not the same as the cold, dead molecules of a wall hero. Why don't you go stroll through a nuclear reactor and tell me how well you do?"

"THEN…DO SOMETHING!" Savior roared. "And…who the hell is she?" Savior said, pointing to the blonde female, who hadn't said a word the whole time.

"Oh…" She said in a small voice. "I'm…I'm…"

And then it happened, as Superboy-Prime cut loose with another blast of heat vision, and while Legend was worn down she could still dodge it, as it flew on and right towards the trio.

"ACK!" Savior said, dodging. "Watch…!"

"Charlotte." Elijah said calmly, as the blast flew at the blonde teen.

"AIIYYEEAAHH!" 'Charlotte' screamed as she stumbled back…

The blast hit her right below her shoulder.

And stopped completely, as did Charlotte. Her costume was barely scorched.

"Did you feel that?" Elijah asked, as Charlotte stared at her injury, or rather the lack thereof.

"…No…I barely did." She said, amazed.

"I keep telling you to not doubt yourself Charlotte. You're very strong. Remember that." Elijah said, and turned back to Savior. "Long story short, this is my new 'friend', Charlotte Caileigh. She's a bit repressed due to upbringing…but she also happens to have a very powerful alien gemstone she found one day. I'll spare you just how it works, let's just say she's strong, and she's TOUGH. It's why her name is Empyrean."

"Empyrean?"

"'The highest reaches of heaven, believed by the ancients to be a realm of pure fire and light…'"

"I know what it means! It doesn't matter! She's strong and tough? So's Legend, and she's losing too."

"Plus she looks like she's about to wet her pants." Raven said as she returned. "Your blonde friend, that is. I staunched Nigel's wound as best I could, despite his damn protests. He gets a hole punched through him and he's telling me to go help others…"

"Not like they don't need it." Elijah commented: indeed, the battlefield was littered with fallen heroes, only a few left standing.

"Savior, your Shimmer tactic seemed to work. Maybe…" Raven said.

"No. I won't be able to get close again, even if you warp me. He'll rip me to pieces before I can finish." Savior said.

"Hey guys what's…" Kid Flash said, and then he stared at Elijah. "You."

"Hello child. Miss me?" Elijah said.

"What is he…?"

And then, with a yell, Superboy-Prime utterly leveled Legend with a punch, as the alien clone went flying through a wall of rock and then through a partially collapsed building on the other side, exploding through that and landing beyond, not moving.

"Oh crap. Whatever we're going to do, we have to do it fast!" Savior said.

"I'll go see if anyone else has a plan!" Kid Flash said, and then was gone.

"Quick, Empyrean, go fight him before he does…something bad!" Savior yelled. Empyrean looked horrified at the concept.

"Me? B-but…"

"Well isn't this great. The person who can do something's too fragile, and the one who can is too scared." Raven said. "If only…"

And then she arched an eyebrow.

And then she turned to Savior, who had gotten a similar look of epiphany.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Raven asked.

"I think I must just be." Savior replied.

* * *

"Is that it?" Superboy-Prime said, glancing around. He wasn't even breathing hard. "Are you fraudulent heroes done forcing my hand? Do you realize what…" 

"MURDERER!"

Sometimes it takes a while to fully ignite, especially when it's already burned out once, but nothing picked up a so-called fallen hero like rage, as Superboy made his grand return by smashing both his fists into Superboy-Prime's face and sending him flying across the street.

Kid Flash watched, glad he was able to (well he supposed it would have happened anyway) to get Superboy back in the game. Because otherwise, he had nothing. Virtually every other hero was either injured, unconscious, or in some cases, retreated for their own safety and the safety of their loved ones. True, his fellow runners were still healthy, but he was the fastest one there and he knew he'd break against the rocks of the killer Superboy like he was a cheap wood boat. So he hoped, and prayed, that either Conner have a miracle turnaround…or they had a miracle period.

And wonder of wonder, Kid Flash got it.

Though not in the way he expected, as Superboy-Prime stopped swiftly, only to run into Superboy's fists once more. And once again, that fact didn't seem to be bothering him much.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Superboy-Prime yelled, as he shrugged off Superboy's punch and returned the blow tenfold, sending Superboy flying backwards himself. "It's not my fault! You made me do it! You tainted me! You…!"

And the golden lasso dropped down over Superboy-Prime.

"Just SHUT. UP." Wonder Girl said, and activated the power of her lasso.

Wonder Woman's, made by the peaceful Amazons, made people tell the truth.

Wonder GIRL'S was made by Ares, and it had another factor: the lightning of Zeus himself. The more angry Wonder Girl felt, the more power it commanded.

And she was PISSED, as golden power erupted down the lasso and surged through Superboy-Prime.

And did…virtually nothing.

"I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!" Superboy-Prime said, as he grabbed the lasso and yanked Wonder Girl back into the ground with a powerful crash. "It's time to accept the truth! I am Superboy! I'm going to grow up to be Superman! I will save the world! You will just lead it…"

"SHE SAID SHUT UP!" Superboy yelled as he slammed down on Superboy-Prime, pounding him with fists so hard he literally began beating a crater into the ground. "You're not Superboy! Maybe I'm not either, but I know one thing! In all my life, when in control of MY facilities, I never took a life unless it was a last resort, and I never, NEVER, popped a hero's head off like a destructive two year old with a pez dispenser! Superboy? YOU'RE A KILLER!"

Superboy-Prime's fist shot up like a jackhammer, sending Conner shooting into the air, as Superboy-Prime followed him up, grabbed him, and hurled him back down into the ground before he violently stomped on Conner's chest. Blood flew from Superboy's mouth.

"No. You be silent." Superboy-Prime said, as he seized Conner and lifted him up. "I will tolerate it no longer. You usurped my name, dragged me down to your level, and I will not stand for it!"

The punch was so strong, Conner felt it through his whole body, as more blood flew from his mouth.

"Now, you failed experiment, GO TO HELL!"

And with a scream, Wonder Girl leapt to attack once more.

As Superboy-Prime blasted through her right shoulder with his heat vision, nearly severing her arm as well. She shrieked in pain

"AND TAKE YOUR TROLLOP WITH YOU!" Superboy-Prime screamed, and hurled Superboy into Wonder Girl, sending them both crashing through a upturned rock wall, as Superboy-Prime began to fly up…

And a hand seized his ankle.

"It's funny."

As Superboy-Prime found himself being yanked back down, to look into the face of a woman he hadn't seen before, a rather lovely blonde, who wore a red and gold outfit that had once had a cape, a cape that had been removed…except it wasn't a female voice coming from the woman's lips. Rather, it was a male's.

"Those who live in glass houses are always the one who want to enact _The Lottery._"

Savior's punch sounded like a thunderclap.

* * *

And some distance away, Raven knelt next to a body, the body of a red-haired young man who looked to be asleep…until you looked into his eyes. And then you saw he wasn't asleep…he just wasn't there, period. He wasn't dead…he had just 'gone away'. 

And she watched the fight, amazed that it had worked. The quandary before them was how they could get close to such a physical powerhouse as this Superboy has proven to be without dying. Empyrean, Elijah's new lady friend, had proven to have the endurance for it, but she lacked the courage and the experience. And Savior, while a high level tactician, as well as having a power that had actually seemed capable of doing some damage, was far too breakable in this situation.

The idea, which both Raven and Savior had arrived on, was what if they could be combined.

And while Savior and Empyrean couldn't do a goofy little dance or put on some earrings to create such a fusion, there was an option open to them.

For years, Raven had studied sorcery, light and dark, and there was a curse to take one's 'quintessence' (in essence his mind) and seal it in an object: a painting, a sword, a cup, anything.

And while the Shimmer called Savior's body its host, it could also live in other bodies.

And so Raven had, from memory (and that had been a big sticking point), taken Noel's mind and sealed it in the Shimmer, which had then left Noel's body (hence leaving him in his redheaded normal form) and entered Empyrean's…where Noel had 'set up shop' and taken over. It was tricky, it was dangerous, Raven had no idea how long it would work, and it could potentially cause the girl brain damage…but they'd done it anyway. They had no choice.

It had worked.

"Good luck Noel." Raven said, as she watched. He'd need it.

* * *

Superboy-Prime was confused. Here was the one who'd tried to destroy his brain, or his voice, but it was coming from this girl. What? Could the white-haired one switch bodies? Could he…? 

Any questions Superboy-Prime had was quickly obliterated as Savior/Empyrean punched him again, another thunderclap of sound echoing from the sheer impact of the blow. They were still attacking him, and he'd had it, he'd kill ALL of them if he had do, as he surged back and punched…

And the final weapon came into play, as Superboy-Prime's punch missed by about two feet, as Savior/Empyrean was suddenly two feet to the left.

Maybe Superboy-Prime could move fast, terribly fast. But Elijah Versaw was a master of the Speed Force. And Superman had, for all his efforts, never beaten the Flash in a race.

As Savior/Empyrean took advantage of Superboy-Prime's surprise and punched him again, as hard as Empyrean could muster. Just how strong the girl was, even she didn't know, but with access to her memories, Savior had learned she could lift 200 tons without overly straining herself. With that kind of power, she could put a lot behind a blow.

And with Savior's mind behind her, she wasn't holding back in the slightest. That was, in some ways, the problem with Superman. He had trained to hold back, to be careful, to not cause unnecessary harm. Indeed, one of the reasons he had 'died' at Doomsday's hands (an event, Savior now knew, that may have been one of the reasons this whole crisis was set in motion) was that he had held back on utterly cutting loose until the bitter end, when it was too late. If he'd gone maximum full throttle from the very beginning, the Man of Steel may have never died in the first place.

And Savior didn't just learn from his mistakes. He learned from others as well.

Because he was hitting Superboy-Prime with absolutely everything Empyrean's amazing talent could muster, and he was doing it with calmness and precision, unlike the wild rages that Superboy and Legend had used: those had their uses, but they'd clearly proven ineffective and demanded a change of course. And as well, he had Elijah as his second man, using his intense speed not to attack Superboy-Prime but to ensure Superboy-Prime couldn't attack Savior/Empyrean. There was just one more aspect in the plan, which would bear fruit if Savior/Empyrean could just knock Superboy-Prime down.

The psychological aspect.

"I know who you are, 'Superboy'." Savior said, for he was the one speaking, and while with Empyrean's vocal cords he couldn't quite get his voice that didn't matter, it was close enough that Superboy-Prime recognized it. "Or perhaps I should call you Prime? After all, you come from Earth-Prime, a dimension that no longer exists. I know, because I saw your life. I see why you're doing this. And I know it's as empty as the void that claimed your piece of existence."

"GRAHHHHHHH!" Superboy-Prime yelled, as he swung at Savior/Empyrean again, but once again the punch hit air, while Savior/Empyrean's twin punches hit face.

"And you know, I understand it too. Watch your whole universe cease to exist, indeed, watch nearly everything you know get claimed by oblivion, surrender yourself to the same, and then be promised a second chance, a paradise. Except in the end, it's not as much as a heaven as it is a hell, as you have to watch our world, and see all it endured since then. And we've been through a lot. But the difference between your vision and the truth, Superboy-Prime, is that our world did not change until it was beyond acceptable. It changed until it was beyond acceptable TO YOU. This world, our problems…we have them, but in your mind, we changed until the problems were omnipresent. To you, we were little more then an abyss. And you know what Nietzsche said about gazing into an abyss."

"SHUT UP!" Superboy-Prime yelled, as he blasted heat vision at Savior/Empyrean…only to find the fusion behind him, as Savior/Empyrean rammed a cracking axe-handle down on his back, causing him to stumble.

"Why? Because I speak the truth? Jack Nicholson had no idea how right he was." Savior said. "What the hell did you think would happen Prime? That after doing all that crap with Alex Luthor you'd just fly off here to confront The Other Superboy, and when you arrived the Kents would say "Oh hello there, Real Superboy, you're our son now." and that Conner would rip off his face and reveal himself to be Brainiac or something? Pantha wasn't just stabbing you in the ego, she was right. You ARE a stupid kid."

"I AM NOT STUPID! I'M SUPER-!"

Superboy-Prime's latest punch and the subsequent aided dodge allowed Savior/Empyrean to punch Superboy-Prime in the throat…a blow that allowed Savior to note how much his hands were hurting. Damn, he may have been winning on points, but Superboy-Prime, despite everything he had endured, wasn't showing a single bruise, while Savior could already feel Empyrean start to tire: she hadn't trained for years in regards to cardiovascular conditioning after all. He had to find an opening fast…on the plus side, his throat punch shut Superboy-Prime up.

"Let me tell you what a hero is kid. A hero is someone who doesn't always get up with a smile on his face in the morning, who looks at people and feels negative feelings at least some times before them, who tries and fails and agonizes over it, who grows angry and makes mistakes, something terrible ones, who feels fear and doesn't want to die and sometimes wishes he could just use his power to tell the world where they could get off…and yet keeps getting up in the morning and going on and doing the right thing. We're awful people? This is a place of darkness? Of course it is! THAT'S REALITY!"

Elijah hadn't lost a step, as Savior/Empyrean floored Superboy-Prime with several more punches and a kick. Well, he might not be doing any damage, but at least Superboy-Prime was selling the punches.

"You know who we have to fear? Not heroes beset by doubt or paranoia or mistrust, or heroes who have to make grave decisions to protect themselves from the animals and predators who would burn down the world to sate their own desires. No. What we have to fear is people like you. The men on white horses, the 'paragons of virtue' who think that the only way to do things right is their way or the highway. I may be awful, but I'm emotionally and intellectually honest! I have darkness within me, but I also have light! We all do! It may not always balance, but it's always there! Harmony and entropy, side by side! I am who I am! While YOU, Prime, ARE ANYTHING BUT!"

And Savior/Empyrean finally saw his opening, as Elijah moved him away from another punch, as Superboy-Prime punched at him again, a very sloppy punch. It was working, he'd gotten inside the kid's head, a tactic that worked on even the mightiest of beings, especially if they were fueled by self-righteousness and fight or flight instincts.

And he acted, as a Shimmer strand shot from Empyrean's leg (and left a tiny hole, it not being his body), and looped around Superboy-Prime's ankle, as Savior/Empyrean shoved with all his/her power, causing Superboy-Prime to trip and fall…as Savior/Empyrean pounced, dropping a knee down and trying to pin the teenager, if only for a second…

As the Shimmer shot out and went up Superboy-Prime's nose.

And Savior learned enough from the first trip to cross enough wires so that Superboy-Prime couldn't bring his astounding strength to bear fully…and by then it would be over.

"We're not heroes? Well, you're a killer and a stupid kid on top of that. I'll take that as a compliment." Savior/Empyrean growled. "Because you're not going to be Superman. YOU'RE GOING TO HELL!"

"ARRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Superboy-Prime screamed, as the Shimmer again went to work, still needing to plot a course, but Savior was in Empyrean's body, he was much stronger, he would succeed this time…

As Superboy-Prime opened his eyes and twin suns glowed within, as his heat vision shot out and impacted on Empyrean's chest.

And Savior realized the hole in his game plan: Empyrean had taken a blast of heat vision before without harm, but that was a missed shot aimed at someone else. This was a concentrated, point blank stream, fired by perhaps the mightiest creature on the face of the planet.

And as the outfit Empyrean wore burned away, and the skin began to blister, Savior realized that in this case, quantity definitely mattered over quality. But he could take it, he could take pain…

But Empyrean couldn't, as the primal instincts of her body disrupted the delicate system that Savior had, Empyrean's willing submerged personality starting to remerge.

_Owowowowowowowoow…!_

**_Hang on girl! Just a bit more!_** Savior 'answered', as he furiously tried to find the 'magic number' that would reduce Superboy-Prime's brain to the thinking ability of compost, but the pain and Empyrean's reaction to it was screwing up his concentration, and how the hell was he able to keep a constant stream of heat vision Savior was TRYING TO RIP HIS BRAIN APART…

_It hurts it hurts it hurrrrrrrtttttttssssssss…_

**_Be strong girl!_**

_I can't it hurtssssssssss…_

**_Life is pain! Take it! Pain is weakness leaving the body! _**

_I can't take it…!_

**_No girl I have him I can't be undone now…!_**

But in the end, it was Empyrean's body. Savior was just visiting. And his hours had expired, as Empyrean briefly took back control enough to rear back, the Shimmer latched to her nervous system and instinctively following the command to retreat…

The Shimmer popped out.

And Superboy-Prime hit Empyrean so hard he knocked the supertough girl cold in one blow, as she flew backwards like she'd been given a blast of Speed Force energy, crashing through several rock walls before she stopped against one, the Shimmer flying out of her from the impact as she hit the ground, the writhing mass of white lines landing near her.

And it couldn't hang around. The totality of Noel Collins' consciousness was sealed in it, and it wasn't meant to hold such a thing. Hooked up to a human brain, it could, but by itself it would rapidly begin to lose the information unless it found a new host…or returned to the original.

And its own thought processes were very basic, as the mass of energy lines immediately headed back for Raven, who had watched with horror as defeat had been snatched from the jaws of victory.

And Superboy-Prime, after being beaten on and psychologically dissected, was not in the most forgiving mood, as he flew after his target, Empyrean…

Only to find her disappearing when he drew close, as if she'd vanished into thin air. Superboy-Prime blinked, and then briefly looked around with telescopic vision, but he couldn't find the girl anywhere in ten miles.

His anger surged, furious that it didn't have a target…

And then he spied the fleeing lines of energy.

* * *

Roughly 20 miles away, Elijah stopped, letting Charlotte down on the ground as he swiftly checked for fatal injuries. He found none, and he planned to keep in that way, for both Charlotte and him. 

"Dumb hero." Elijah said, having already grown tired of being selfless. "How the hell could they beat that? Let Superman handle it, handle everything. I'm out of here…"

An arm fell on his shoulder.

"No son."

Elijah looked up to the worn but still strong face of Jay Garrick.

"You're not going anywhere."

Elijah stared for a moment, and then he snorted.

"Get OFF me, old man!" Elijah said as he slapped the arm away, standing up. "You might be the original, but I'm the superior product, and even I can't do a damn thing. None of you can. Even if you could beat him, there's not a thing in this universe that could hold him. This is over."

"It's never over." Said a new voice behind Elijah, and Elijah turned to address whoever that was.

And was struck dumb.

"And there is a place that can hold him." Garrick said, even as Kid Flash appeared nearby… as Elijah stared at the red-garbed visage of Wally West, THE Flash, the fastest man alive.

"And for once, you punk." The Flash said. "You're going to do something for someone besides yourself."

* * *

Savior sat up, back in his body, the form newly 'whitened' as Raven looked at him, and he stared at nothing for a moment, thinking of how he'd had it and then lost it…and right after that, how easy it would be to blame Empyrean. After all, she'd screwed it up. She and her inexperience and her fear. All her fault. 

Much like all the death Superboy-Prime had dealt was all THEIR fault, his hands blameless.

It was so easy to blame others for failing. Savior knew that, and even he did it. It was an insidious process that could come to dominate even the most refined minds. Alex Luthor Jr was shining proof of that.

No…in the end Savior had done everything he could. He'd tried. So had Empyrean. He would not blame her.

And that wouldn't save him, as he looked over and saw Superboy-Prime even as the teen saw him.

"…_Pero deseamos…"_

"_No children. This isn't your run."_

"_SureIcan't…"_

"_No Zippy. You go to your family. We'll take it from here."_

"…_Pozo del funcionamieto."_

"_Thank you."_

"_You ready?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Then let's go. All of us."_

"_Relax. I won't screw you over."_

"_I know you won't."_

"_Wally…"_

"_No Bart. No more talking. Time to run."_

_And like that, they were gone._

"…_Buena suerte." Said Mas Y Menos._

And in the end, Savior knew he was dead. He'd ticked off Superboy-Prime and now he'd pay the price for it. Maybe he could run, but he doubted it, and he knew he couldn't fight.

So he stood, and he stepped in front of Raven, to take the wrath, to let her escape. He would not tell her to run: she would know to, and decide if she wanted to. That was her choice. He hoped she made the right one.

As Superboy-Prime took to the air, lancing towards Savior.

He met the teen's eye as he came, without flinching.

"Shoot straight you bastard."

Superboy-Prime cocked back his fist…

"Wegothimguys."

And then, abruptly, in a blast of wind, Superboy-Prime was gone.

Savior stared for a second, unable to believe it.

And then a cracking sonic boom rang through the air. And Savior knew.

He'd been dead, and now he…wasn't. It was as if God himself had reached down and plucked Superboy-Prime from existence to personally punish him for his sins.

And the reality that for some reason he had been granted such mercy, when so many of his teammates had not, suddenly caused the strength to go out of his legs, as he collapsed, retching a few times as the sheer magnitude of it washed over him.

"…It's hard to face martyrdom when you realize just what it entailed." Raven said, as she put a comforting hand on Savior's shoulder. Savior coughed.

"…Go help the wounded."

"Noel…"

"I'm fine. Go help them!"

"Of course." Raven said, and vanished in shadow.

Savior remained there…and though the exact reason was fleeting, he knew why he'd not died when others had.

For a moment, he almost resented it.

* * *

It had not been God who had taken Superboy-Prime moments before Savior had been set to see his end. 

It had been the Flash legacy, as well as the outsider, as the four greatest speedsters in the world had run in, all of them seizing Superboy-Prime and carrying him off, accelerating beyond any rate of measurement that could keep up. By the time the sonic boom sounded, they had long flown past Mach 1 and were already cracking light speed despite only traveling a very short distance.

And they were only going faster, as Jay Garrick, Wally West, and Bart Allen, helped along somewhat resentfully by Elijah Versaw, ran, carrying Superboy-Prime along.

And he wasn't happy about the fact.

"**STOP IT!"** He yelled, but the Flashes (and Elijah) just ran faster, even as the rage returned and Superboy-Prime's eyes glowed crimson.

"Let…me…**GO!**"

And the terrible beam of deadly heat flew from his eyes.

And was blocked by Jay Garrick's metal hat, as he grabbed it off his head and used it as a makeshift shield, the helmet somehow holding the beam's blast and preventing it from disintegrating Wally West's head.

It would be the last thing Garrick did, as he looked at Wally with mournful desperation.

"Wally, I…my tendons are tearing..." Garrick said. Elijah had called him an old man, and while he was spry for his age, he was indeed old, and that was catching up to him.

"…I'm not going to be fast enough for this." Garrick said, his noble instincts clashing with the dread reality that he just couldn't keep up.

If Elijah had been in charge of this tactic, he probably would have berated Garrick. But Wally West was in the lead, and he was far more compassionate then Elijah was. He understood.

"We just needed help with the running start, Jay…" Wally said. In other words: _Go._

"…I'm sorry son."

And Garrick fell, bouncing a few times in a controlled fashion as he dropped out of the race, his hat clattering nearby.

"You did great." Wally said, as the three ran on.

"Good luck." Jay said after the speedsters.

They had traveled less then half a mile from where they had plucked Superboy-Prime, but already they had accelerated to the point where they had cracked light speed…and beyond.

As a golden energy sprang up around them.

And Superboy-Prime yelled his defiance.

"What are you **_doing?_**" He shouted.

"The Speed Force?" Bart asked, looking at what the three speedsters had entered.

"We gotta keep moving, Bart!" Wally replied. "We gotta get this psycho _away_ from everyone!"

"But why did he do it? Who is he?" Bart replied.

"Who cares?" Elijah snapped.

"Don't stop running Bart!" Wally said.

The way he said the words should have been an indication that it was going to hit the fan for the last time, but it wasn't.

"Don't STTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP…!" Wally West yelled.

And then suddenly he was gone. He didn't fall like Jay. He didn't run ahead. Superboy-Prime hadn't struck or blasted him. He just vanished, like he'd been pulled away.

And unfortunately, this had another grave side effect. While Elijah Versaw claimed he was a Speed Force master, and he was, the Flash linage had the advantage that they could do things at the highest speed with a minimum of effort. For Elijah, when you got up to this level of velocity, a murderous level of concentration was required.

And Wally's abrupt disappearance interrupted it, and Elijah lost his footing, vanishing back into the golden ether behind the group, which was now down to one, Kid Flash, the heir apparent.

"Flash? Cauterize?" Bart said, in shock.

A feeling that kept him from noticing that his speed seemed to increase even more, almost instantaneously. He would not understand what had happened, just where Wally had gone, until later…but for now, he did not know, and it terrified him. He'd even have preferred to stay running with Elijah, who'd tried to kill him, than go it all by himself.

Superboy-Prime screamed, though Bart barely noticed.

"Wally? Elijah? Wally, where are you doing?" Kid Flash said, as despair suddenly seized him. "I can't _do _this! I can't do this _alone!"_

"You're right."

Kid Flash wished it had been Elijah speaking, but he was still lost. The speaker had been Superboy-Prime.

"You're nothing." The kryptonian said, having taken the plunge from rage to cruelty. "You're even weaker then the rest. You've _always_ been stupid. I watched you."

Bart's eyes widened.

"Stupid little kid. Left all alone."

In reality, Superboy-Prime was the stupid one, for despair was a far better thing to stir in your foes then anger.

And in his words, Superboy had not desponded Bart Allen. He'd enraged him.

"**_SHUT UP!"_**

Kid Flash's fist slammed against Superboy's face, his innate mass greatly increased by the sheer speed he was going at, even though he broke most of his fingers. He didn't notice.

**_"I'M..." _**

**_ KRAAAKKKKK!_**

**_"NOT…" _**

**_KRAKKKKKKK!_**

**_"STUPID!"_**

**_KRAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!_**

And even as Kid Flash, his eyes narrowed in fury, his fists slamming against Superboy-Prime's face, lashed out…even he couldn't ignore what happened next.

As a hand emerged from the golden energy behind Superboy-Prime, a hand that stayed in place despite the fact Bart was still running…a hand that was part of a red costumed arm.

"Bart."

As Barry Allen, The Flash, emerged from the Speed Force behind Superboy and clamped an arm around his neck.

"You're not alone either." Barry said, as Superboy-Prime looked in astonishment at this man who had literally come from nowhere.

"Grandpa?" Kid Flash said, unable to believe it himself.

As another hand came from the power, seizing Superboy-Prime's right wrist.

"Come on Johnny…"

As Max Mercury, zen master of speed and Bart's former mentor, long gone into the Speed Force, emerged by Barry's side, and even as he spoke, another hand came from the power as well, seizing Superboy-Prime's left wrist, as Johnny Quick, speedster of World War II, also emerged from the energy, the greatest runners ever reunited in the power that had blessed them. Even Wally, in his own way, was there.

"Max!" Kid Flash said, amazed.

"Let's help the kid out." Max Mercury said.

"You got it." Johnny Quick replied.

"Don't forget me."

And Elijah Versaw, finally caught back up, ran back up next to Bart, grabbing Superboy-Prime once more.

"…This is not your time and place." Barry said.

"I know. But I hate leaving things I start unfinished." Elijah said. "Let's blitz."

"…Let's." Barry replied.

"NO." Superboy-Prime said, as he finally realized the sheer enormity of the situation. "NO! Don't do this to me!"

"Wally's waiting for you Bart." Barry said.

"Don't be afraid." Max added.

"I'm not Max." Kid Flash replied, and he wasn't. "Let's go."

And with Elijah, Kid Flash performed the final burst, even as the legendary speedsters pulled back.

"NO! They made me do it!" Superboy-Prime wailed, as he was pulled in.

As Kid Flash pushed on away from Elijah, shoving Superboy-Prime on.

"You **_can't_** get rid of me! I'm going to be Superman!" Superboy-Prime shrieked. "Don't **_any_** of you **_understand_**? **_I'M GOING TO BE SUPERM…"_**

And the golden energy exploded in a final, brilliant radiance.

* * *

And in but a moment, faded away completely, leaving Jay Garrick standing mere feet from the carnage wrecked by the battle…and Elijah Versaw coming to a stop on a street several blocks distant. 

And they both instantly knew what had happened.

"Jay?"

Jay Garrick turned, looking at his friend Ted Kord, aka Wildcat, who immediately saw the look of great sorrow on Jay's face.

As elsewhere, Elijah stared at his hands, a look of disbelief on his features…and grief as well.

"Jay, you ok?" Wildcat asked.

Jay had gotten his hat back somehow, and he lifted it, looking down on it, still smoking from Superboy-Prime's blast of heat vision.

"…The Speed Force, Ted…" Jay said.

"…it's gone." Elijah finished, speaking only to himself and what he, and all speedsters, had just lost.

* * *

You would think, with all the havoc caused, that the battle that had consumed Smallville would be where it all mattered. 

In reality, the battle had meant very little in the grand scheme of things, as elsewhere, the true effect of all that happened was about to be unleashed. And unlike in Smallville, there was absolutely nothing or anyone to oppose it.

Not that the assembled superheroes cared. Shell-shocked and exhausted, they picked their way over the destruction, counting their dead and tending to their wounded.

"Sophie…go help someone else." Scalpel hissed.

"No one else is someone I love with a big hole in them, you big stupid hero." Sophie said, trying to keep her sobs back as she treated Nigel's injury. For a human it would have been invariably fatal, but for Nigel, he had a chance of recovering…a chance.

The Elementals kept to themselves, trying to help Platinum Blonde, while Gauntlet frantically searched for Paragon and the other Titans tried to find their own friends and loved ones.

"You ok Terra?" Beast Boy asked where his girlfriend was sitting on the ground.

"Just a few…scratches…" Terra replied. The bloody gash on her arm she was holding tore her lie apart, but she was fine compared to some, as Beast Boy immediately to go check on an old friend from California: Bette Kane, aka Flamebird, who was lying on the ground clutching her head.

"Bette?" He asked.

"He hurt them…killed them…" Flamebird said, her voice filled with shock.

"Stay with us Bette. It's ok. It's over…"

"What happened?" Robotman asked, one arm a tangled wreck.

"We lost at least five members in that attack. Number could go up." Mr. Terrific said, as he both tried to help his team and their allies and check the battle data on his T-Spheres.

"It was bad…overall." Robin said, as he and Wonder Girl supported an injured Superboy on each arm. "But Conner…what happened? Who was that?"

"…I…I don't know…" Conner whispered.

"I do."

The assembled heroes turned to Savior, who had gotten over his survivor's guilt. It was time for action.

"And it's even worse then any of you could begin to believe." Savior said.

"I don't see how…wait. Do you see that? Up in the sky?" Mr. Terrific said.

Words of a prophet, as across the universe, everything as the world knew it came to an end.

There was no rain of fire or horsemen riding the streets to signal it. No.

A section of the group that had stood against Superboy-Prime just disappeared.

As did what remained of Smallville.

Into thin air.

"I see it. What in the world…?" Jay Garrick was saying as he himself vanished.

"Jay?" Stargirl said in shock as it happened.

"Flamebird?" Beast Boy said, looking at where his old acquaintance had been.

"…Sophie?" Scalpel whispered, as he looked at where his girlfriend had been. Now she was gone.

A quick head count clarified it. Jay Garrick, Wildcat, Hourman, Sand, STRIPE, Flamebird, Sophie Mathews, and all the Elementals had completely, utterly vanished.

It was if they'd never existed.

Or rather…if their reason for existing had completely changed.

* * *

Once, there was one Earth. A great crisis had made it that way. 

Now, another great crisis had undone it.

Two Earths now existed, floating side by side. Earth-1 and Earth-2 once again existed. What was past was present.

As an old man, who still wore the visage of the world's greatest hero, and his elderly sick wife, found themselves in front of a giant building, which was proudly named _The Daily Star._

"…We're here, Lois." Kal-L said. "We're home."

* * *

"Savior, remember when you said it was worse then we could ever believe?" Robin said to his fellow Titan. 

"All too well." Savior replied.

"I have a feeling that the bad stuff is only just beginning."

_To be continued…?_

_We shall see._

_In Infinite Crisis #5!_


	2. The Explanation: The Journey

**_The Journey of a Thousand Miles_**

Opening Note: My thanks to Wikipedia, the MoviePoopShoot comic section, and all the other sources that allowed me to write/compose this article. I would also like to note that I am not a professional writer, and that any dislikes or disdains said in the article are mine alone and up to the reader to decide if they share.

Warning: This is a VERY LOOOOONNNNGGGGGG explanation. You have been warned. I wish that I didn't have to compose such a diatribe to explain one story…but this is comics. It is the nature of the beast, and sadly necessary.

* * *

There was a biography once about Hitler's official moviemaker (she made the (in)famous propaganda film _Triumph of the Will_) Leni Riefenstahl. The content is unimportant here: what matters is the title, which was 'The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl.'

That title is apt for comics too. They are a wonderful horrible medium.

They are wonderful because you can tell stories in comics that are impossible in any other medium, be they books, radio, television, movies, cartoons, internet cartoons, plays, operas, sporting events, and anything else you can think of. In comics is a unique doorway to other worlds our minds can touch, if but for a moment, and what a wondrous world it is.

They are horrible because this doorway is fickle. Comics are, above all else, a medium of impermanence: one switch in writer or artist and suddenly the comic that was on top of the world yesterday is lining the litter box today. One advantage that books and Japanese manga tend to have is that they are almost always written, from beginning to end, by one person. If they weren't, things would get extremely messy. Do you think Harry Potter would have the level of popularity he enjoys if each book was written by a new author? Would Inuyasha be better or worse if Rumiko Takahashi took a break and let someone else take the reigns? Would you trust anyone to write more Lord of the Rings books now that J.R.R Tolkien has passed on?

Looking at the average comic character, who may have had dozens if not hundreds of writers involved with him, and examining his history in chronological order, can make you sit back and go 'WTF were people thinking?'. And it gets worse if writers have a fanboy adulation or a severe dislike of whoever they happen to be penning, or even worse, don't understand the character. And let's not forget the almighty retcon, short for 'retroactivity continuity', in which a character or characters' past is mucked around with for the sake of a new story. I'm sure plenty of comic fans want to forget what J. Michael Straczynski did to Gwen Stacy, though if one does research that was much the fault of Marvel's editors as him.

In short, comics are a complicated business, and most of the complication is needless yet happens anyway. And that's just one character.

Imagine trying to figure out a whole universe, created by, added too, and overloaded by potentially THOUSANDS of writers.

Got a headache yet?

Now factor in the outside, real world reasons why these things are happening ie what is usually politics, prejudices, egotism, and greed that is causing all kinds of whiplash effects as we try and figure out who's alive, who's dead, and who's now evil.

You can go take an aspirin now, I won't go anywhere.

Jumping into a world like this can be overwhelming, especially if you've become interested due to a cartoon series, where things are often simplified, or a movie, where things are simplified even more. You wonder how something that seemed so simple in the medium that introduced you to it became so complicated. And since comics companies are owned by larger businesses that often worship the almighty dollar, they see no profit in publishing cliff notes to summarize stories. You want to know? Go buy the book!

And considering the sheer background needed to understand this story, I didn't want that to happen to you.

So here's the history my reader. It's long and complicated and may make you want to give up comics entirely, but here it is: how we got to this story.

So, as Stan Lee Might say…Just Imagine.

I. He Turns All His Weaknesses Into Strengths…

In June 1938, it appeared. Its title was Action Comics #1, and on its cover was something quite extraordinary. A man lifting a car above his head, as easily as if it were made of paper, and smashing it into a wall, as the occupants of the car, assumed to be criminals, fled in sheer terror. In the release of this magazine, the superhero was born.

Sure, there were those who preceded him. The likes of the Shadow and Doc Savage had graced the pulp magazines of the time, and heroes like Zorro and The Scarlet Pimpernel had swung and dueled through their own adventures in novels and pulp magazines as well. But while these heroes may have been more then average men, and may have worn costumes and protected the innocent, they were in the end just extraordinarily gifted human beings.

Superman, who appeared on that cover, was the first that could truly be said to 'possess powers beyond that of mortal men', which was fitting as he was an alien. With Superman, a new kind of character was born: the superhero, who possessed amazing powers and used them in the service of good and righteousness.

It caught faster then any inferno, and Superman did not have to wait long for any company. Within months there were dozens of superheroes, with powers ranging from the original to the ridiculous to the magnificent in their own right to the imitation, and in some cases no powers at all (what separated the Batman from his earlier brothers in the Shadow and Zorro had yet to be made clear, as terms such as 'metahumans' had yet to appear in comics, but he was also termed a 'superhero', the first of his breed of redone vigilantes).

Of course, the medium was in its infancy, and the moral compass of the hero had yet to be defined, nor had the proper storytelling structure been clarified. Superman spent his first few adventures fighting racketeers and wife-beaters, while Batman, whose character would later be defined to hold human life sacred above everything else, thought nothing of using guns (an act later retconned to be abhorrent to his means) to kill villains if it was necessary, and in his first adventure actually allowed the villain of the piece to fall into a vat of acid to his death, with the comment 'a fitting end for his kind.' While the heroes were sworn to fight evil, the acts of good and the acts of evil had yet to be fully separated.

But the heroes were about to get a blackness so dark anything they did in retrospect would shine, no matter what it was.

Real Life I: World War II

In the Second World War, virtually every hero found an enemy to fight, as the shadow of Hitler loomed over the world, and seemingly seemed destined to embrace it. People were afraid, and when people are afraid, they will fight back in any way they can. And for the writers who wrote the comics of the time, unable to fight in the war usually due to physical defects, they fought back in the comics, as every single superhero turned their attention to Nazi Germany and the supposed rampart sabotage and terrible things it was doing on the home front. It worked, which perhaps was inevitable: why create villains when the dark spectre of Nazi Germany, and later Imperialist Japan, provided an endless array of foes to battle? Especially when it could serve as propaganda at the same time, with the enemies of American drawn as grotesque caricatures if not outright monsters (the Japanese bore an especially heavy brunt of these, for the Americans didn't much care for them sneak attacking Pearl Harbor) and the heroes of the Allies seen to be able to smash through them and their (often highly fictionalized plots and war machines), because they were fighting for freedom, and freedom is the mightiest force of all!

In World War II, the era that comic historians later termed the Golden Age truly began, as several of comicdom's most famous characters were created: Captain America swung from the pages of Marvel, while the first incarnations of Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman emerged from DC, as well as the first versions of lesser known characters such as Hawkman, the Atom, The Blue Beetle, Plastic Man, and one of Jerry Siegal's, the man who co-created Superman, lesser known creations: The Spectre, who began as an attempt to top even the powers of Superman and ultimately evolved beyond a typical hero to one of the mightiest entities of the DC World, showing his face usually only in true crisis' and when vengeance was needed. Fawcett Comics came out with their own hero, Captain Marvel, a hero that was more then a little derived from Superman (and after Fawcett folded, would join Superman in the DC world as DC acquired the company's properties), as other comic companies, attempting to capture lightning in a bottle, would create dozens of their own characters. Some would survive all the way to the modern day, while some would appear once or twice and be forgotten afterward, but at the time they all had plenty to do, as the heroes battled the Nazis in stories, in propaganda, in movie serials and radio shows, and anything else they could find. Soldiers were sent comics as gifts and as encouragement, even as the number of heroes continued to multiply like rabbits. For all its flaws, it was a golden age.

And then the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and everything changed.

Real Life II: Seduction of the Innocent

As the saying goes, you can have too much of a good thing, and with the end of World War II, that became readily apparent in the comics industry. With the Axis gone, virtually all heroes found themselves out in the cold in terms of who to fight: without the ready made foes of Hitler and Hirohoto, there really didn't seem any reason to have superpowered humans running around. They'd fought for freedom and won it, now what? Secondly, with the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a new power had entered the real world, one that could destroy cities and lay waste to all life as effectively as any Superman could were he real and was he inclined to. Third, and perhaps more importantly, tastes had changed. The public is fickle, and superhero comics had simply fallen out of favor. New comics, such as love, comedy, western, and horror were taking their place.

It's the last one that's the most important, for as the 40's gave way to the 50's it nearly sounded the death knell for comics entirely.

His name was Dr. Frederic Wertham, and for his time, he actually had surprisingly modern views, including viewpoints on black people that would have gotten you shot in some places in the States. His job at the time of the early 50's, an extraordinarily repressed decade if there ever was, was to treat homosexuals, who were then considered to be mentally ill for their choices. Wertham found, through his interviewing of young homosexual men, that a lot of them identified with Batman and Robin, and their 'relationship'.

However, Wertham was an educated man. He understood the subtleties of such viewpoints and feelings, and how they actually related to what was appearing in comics at the time.

He also knew that would never go over with the parents of the time. They needed to be spoken to in a different language. For his own reasons, which to this day are incomprehensible to me, he decided to do so.

_Seduction of the Innocent_, the book that resulted from this choice, was released in 1954. It warned that comic books were a bad influence on youth and a leading cause of juvenile delinquency, that Batman and Robin glorified gay relationships, that Wonder Woman's strength and independence made her a Sapphic paragon that also glorified bondage (though he may have actually had something there, but that's another story) and who spewed Feminist nonsense about what women could be, that horror comics showing violent and scary images would bring about the downfall of society, and so on and so on. It was junk psychiatry if there ever was, blaming a boogeyman that would later shift to rock and roll, television, video games, rap music, and Janet Jackson's partially exposed for half a second breast, a boogeyman that would instantly turn children into sadistic rapists and killers if they were exposed to it. And as these things have a habit of doing, it was accepted wholeheartedly by parents unqualified and uneducated enough to understand the true meanings behind such a claim and whipped into a hysteria that caused newly formed groups to demand censorship of the evil, perverted comics.

Most companies collapsed, and Marvel and DC, the big two then and now, barely survived. It also had the effect of utterly killing off the horror field, as well as putting all but the most popular superheroes and villains on ice and in limbo, as comics now had to be examined and censured by the newly formed Comic Code Authority so that said heroes and villains did not demonstrate the evil subversive messages Wertham had claimed.

The results are quite obvious if one looks at 50's comics today. Batman, a grim brooding avenger of crime, was dragged into the daylight, deputized by the police, and went around smiling as he was given a Batwoman to try and alleviate the comments that he and Robin were gay (for proof of the success of this effort, please see every first joke ever made about Batman and Robin to this day). On top of that, with the horror field dead, science fiction was becoming popular, and as a result characters such as the aforementioned Batman went from protecting his city and battling criminals and villains to going on space trips, meeting aliens, and getting turned into everything from a 'Merman' Batman to a 'Negative' Batman.

There is a reason most comic fans these days pretend the 50's never happened. If you want a first hand look, feel free to scroll over to Superdickery Dot Com.

Fortunately, things were about to get better. In some aspects anyway…

II. As Bright As Sterling Silver…

However, the science fiction aspect that had become all the rage did allow for something good to happen: while Batman may have had to go gallivanting around with men on Mars when he should have been knocking heads in Gotham, it allowed new DC editor Julius Schwartz to get the idea of re-introducing forgotten DC heroes in new forms with new science fiction-esque origins. It began with a new Flash, and after that met with success, a new Green Lantern swiftly followed. New science fiction versions of Hawkman and the Atom quickly followed. Schwartz was on a roll…having no idea he was setting up one of the greatest problems to ever plague comics: the demon known as continuity. But that comes a little later, for at the moment virtually no one was paying attention to what happened in comics story to story. This was a severe problem, especially with Superman, whose writers were essentially never told just where they should place limits when it came to his powers, resulting in him gaining a new (and as they went on, often ridiculous) power for seemingly every situation ('What if he could freeze stuff with his breath?' 'SURE!' 'What if he could perform super-ventriloquism?' "RIGHT ON!" 'What if he could somehow use his heat vision to turn water into acid?' "GROOVY!"), and when he wasn't gaining new powers, he was getting new friends. Far from being the Last Son of Krypton, Superman was soon joined by his cousin Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, who had also escaped from Krypton. And before that he had been joined by Krypto the Superdog. And would soon be joined by Streaky The Supercat. And Comet the Superhorse. And Beppo the Supermonkey. (What, did Superman's father cram a whole zoo in that capsule?). And also, there was the bottle city of Kandor, where had somehow been blasted off the exploding planet Krypton when it blew, but survived by building a dome and floating in space…until the villain Brainiac found it and shrunk it down to model size: it was filled with Kryptonians too, who all had Superman's powers should they re-enlarge and head out onto Earth. And let's not forget kryptonite, the only substance that could harm and kill Superman (save magic, of course), who started out with green kryptonite and quickly got one for every color of the rainbow, as well as everyone and their mother having some (Sci-fi writer Larry Niven, in his comical essay 'Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex', quite accurately remarked "It has been estimated, from the startling tonnage of kryptonite fallen to Earth since the explosion of Krypton, that the planet must have outweighed our entire solar system.").

But for all that nonsense going it, no one was noticing it. Something else was about to get their attention.

Because as the 60's arrived, over at Marvel Comics, in response to the renewed success DC was having with superheroes, publisher Marvin Goodman asked a certain writer to come up with a new superhero team to get in on the act. And since said writer was planning on changing careers, his wife encouraged him to experiment and write a story HE preferred, since he had nothing to lose.

That writer was Stan Lee. The comic he came up with was the Fantastic Four. With it, the Silver Age of Comics truly arrived.

Lee wrote his new heroes with a flawed humanity, a change from the ideal archetypes that were typically written for pre-teens. His heroes could have bad tempers, melancholy fits, vanity, greed, etc. They bickered amongst themselves, worried about paying their bills and impressing girlfriends, and even were sometimes physically ill. Before him, superheroes were idealistically perfect people with no problems: Superman was so powerful that nobody could harm him, and Batman was a billionaire in his secret identity. In doing so, Lee tapped into something in his readers: while reading about idealized paragons may have been good for a thrill, there was more substance in a hero that the reader could relate with, a truth that perhaps had no better definition in the last issue of a canceled comic series called Amazing Fantasy, on which a red and blue garbed figure, one arm carrying a gangster and the other swinging on a line through the air, boldly declared that while people might mock the timid teenager Peter Parker, they would soon marvel at the awesome might of Spiderman.

Lee's creations (though they were usually co created with someone else, such as the equally legendary Jack Kirby, Steve Dikto, and Bill Everett), which soon also include The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Daredevil, the Avengers, and the X-Men, brought superheroes back to comics, where they have dominated ever since. However, the resurgence was more for Marvel then DC, something that would happen a few more times throughout history. Over in DC, the 60's would be more defined by camp, or more precisely the immense amount of popularity that would return to Batman, and the company in general, with the release of the mid 60's Batman TV show. But the less said about Adam West in his powder-blue outfit with his paunch and overacting, complete with "WHACK! POW! CRACK!" and dancing the Batusi, the better.

Because some long time readers were beginning to ask questions, like, what happened to the Flash and Green Lantern who showed up around World War II? And speaking of World War II, that was nearly twenty years over, why hadn't the heroes aged?

The answer could have been so simple…but it wasn't

III. When Worlds Collide

When you can move really fast, reality can go funny. And so Barry Allen, the Flash created in the late 50's, found this out firsthand when he was running really fast one day and ended up tearing through dimensions. He ended up on Earth…except in THIS Earth, the Flash was a man named Jay Garrick…the Flash who had been created around World War II. And oh yes, there was also another Superman, whose name was Kal-L instead of Kal-EL, and a Batman (whose name was still Bruce Wayne, thankfully), and a Wonder Woman, and older copies of all the DC heroes. This was Earth-2, which was what we were watching during the World War II comics, and the comics we read now (now being the 60's) were Earth-1, where the heroes started their careers later in time and hence haven't aged. That makes sense, right?

In other words, the Silver Age DC Heroes lived on Earth-1. The Golden Age versions lived on Earth-2. On Earth-1 there was the Justice League, on Earth-2 the Justice SOCIETY. On Earth-2 there wasn't anyone created during the Silver Age, like J'onn J'onzz aka the Martian Manhunter, or The Green Lantern Corps. Two worlds, each containing a set of heroes from a different time.

Ok, it somewhat makes sense.

Except it just couldn't stop there.

Once you've started exploring alternate dimensions, it can become rather hard to stop. And in the real world, when you are buying bankrupt comic companies and adding their characters to your own company, yet not wanting to explain 'If these heroes were doing hero stuff at the same time, how come Superman and co never met them' with a simple 'Because they just didn't', it gets even worse.

Earth-3 swiftly emerged. This was different though, as this universe contained EVIL versions of Earth-1 heroes, as it took place in a realm where history was 'backwards': Christopher Columbus was an American who discovered Europe; Britain fought and won its freedom from the United States in the Revolutionary War; President John Wilkes Booth was assassinated by actor Abraham Lincoln; the United States flag had "reversed" colors (black stars on a red background, and alternating blue and black stripes); and so on. Here, the evil Ultraman (Superman), Owlman (Batman), Superwoman (Wonder Woman), Power Ring (Green Lantern), and Johnny Quick (The Flash, not be confused with Johnny Quick the World War II speedster hero on Earth-1) ruled the world as the Crime Syndicate of America, while the sole hero was genius Alexander Luthor, and his love Lois Lane.

And it just did not stop, as the 60's and 70's saw the rise of Earth-4, Earth-6, Earth-12, Earth-A, Earth-B, Earth-C, Earth-C-Minus, Earth-S, and Earth-X. No, I made none of those up. A notable one was Earth-Prime, which was supposedly 'our' world, where the DC world characters were just people in comic books. However, Earth-Prime treaded into metafictional concepts as the Flash of Earth-1 would occasionally 'visit' Earth-Prime to talk with real life DC editor Julius Schwartz. And on Earth-Prime, just before the end, a young Clark Kent (not the same Clark of Earth-1) discovered he had superpowers and became Superboy.

By the time the 80's arrived, it was clear the end was coming, as the solution had become the problem. There were now so many Earths that it was virtually impossible to keep track of who belonged where, especially when they were introducing their own new heroes and crossing over with each other. Not to mention the fact that after 50 years a lot of the DC characters were in a big mess. The lack of any restraint on Superman's powers by the people writing him over the decades had resulted in the character becoming an invincible god who could never be hurt, could always have a power for the situation, and whose enemies only existed as jokes. Batman's past was a seesaw ride as the vigilante went from violent to happy to campy back to violent with a hint of broody. You had to be a genius to make any sense out of Wonder Woman's tangled continuity. And so on. The machine had become mammoth and clogged, and a restart was needed. And since DC's 50th anniversary was coming up, there was a perfect chance to do so.

It was time for a crisis.

IV. Crisis on Infinite Earths

It was supposed to be the solution, once again: a 12 issue maxiseries that would finally sort all the complications of the DC Universe out, make the company more accessible to new readers, and shake the DC world to its core. It, along with Marvel's Secret Wars, would also spawn the concept of company-wide storylines. It was the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and its storyline went thusly.

You may want to grab a snack.

The Background: Billions of years ago, there was just one universe, in which lay the planet Oa. It was the base for a species of immortal humanoid who would later serve as the Guardians of the Universe. One of them was named Krona, a scientist, who was obsessed with observing the creation of the universe, despite an Oan legend that said discovering that secret would cause a great calamity. Krona created a machine that allowed him to see into the moment of creation. Somehow, his experiment disrupted the process of creation, with terrible consequences. While this consequence had been established before, a retcon added the fact that his experiment caused the universe to split, forming the many alternative universes in which all the Earths rested, creating in its stead a multiverse. A multiverse that was not supposed to exist, at that. It also led to the creation of an anti-matter universe, which stood alone among all the other universes, which were positive matter. And in one universe, Earth-1, due to these events, a being known as the Monitor was born (a gimpy name, yes, but the name 'Watcher' had been taken by Marvel back in the 60's) on the moon of Oa, and in the evil anti-matter universe, on the moon of the main planet of that world, dubbed 'Qward', his opposite was born at the same time, the evil Anti-Monitor. The two beings were instantly aware of each other, and proceeded to battle for a million years, but all they did against each other canceled each other out, and at the end of their stalemate went into a state of inertia for nine million years.

In more modern times, the alien scientist Kell Mossa performed an experiment similar to the one Krona attempted long ago. The end result was the reawakening of both the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor, and also caused the Anti-Monitor to learn of the existence of Mossa's planet, which made him send waves of anti-matter that resulted in the destruction of the entire world. Mossa survived (unbeknownst to him, through the intervention of the Anti-Monitor's benevolent counterpart, the Monitor) and acquired the ability (which was also his curse) of immortality and being invincible from harm, as well as the power to travel from one alternate Earth to another, but only when he was pulled there by extreme danger to witness the destruction of said Earth by the Anti-Monitor, who had discovered that by destroying a positive matter universe, he increased the power of his own anti-matter universe. His goal became clear: the Anti-Monitor had to destroy every single positive matter universe to triumph, and he promptly rebuilt his army, taking over Qward and using the warriors of the planet, known as the Thunderers, as his own private army, as well as creating terrible Shadow Demons from the elite of the Thunderers. Mossa took the new name of Pariah as he was forced to watch the Anti-Monitor destroy these universes, seemingly in penance for his experiment that awoke the Anti-Monitor to this in the first place. In reality, he was serving as the Monitor's eyes and ears on the progress of his evil counterpart, for with every positive matter universe that was destroyed, the Monitor grew weaker. Pariah never knew this, and spent untold years watching the destruction, as the Anti-Monitor used his vast cosmic powers to annihilate the Earths…one…by one…by one…

The Story Itself: Crisis on Infinite Earths began as Pariah finds himself on Earth-3, witnessing the destruction of the world and the universe of the Crime Syndicate. In a parallel to Superman's origin, the hero Alexander Luthor and his wife Lois Lane, even as their universe is vanishing, send their infant child Alex Luthor Jr off, not to another planet but to another universe. However, Alex's capsule is buffeted by the forces destroying his universe before he can cross over, where he is retrieved by Lyra, an orphan rescued by the Monitor for reasons known only to him. Known as Harbinger, with the power to split herself into multiple bodies, she served as his assistant for such tasks, as the Monitor believed Alex Luthor Jr would be useful in the upcoming final battle: only a handful of worlds remained and the Anti-Monitor was fast approaching them. Alex Luthor Jr did indeed prove to be special, as the powers that buffered him as he escaped his destructing universe granted him a body composed of BOTH matter and anti-matter, and command over each form of said matter (though it also accelerated his aging, as he swiftly becomes a young man within a few days). Meanwhile, the Anti-Monitor recruited a DC villain known as the Psycho-Pirate, who could command and control emotions, to assist him in his final push to destroy all the positive matter universes.

The Monitor himself had appeared in several DC comics over the past few years, where he had been presented as a simple weapons broker to villains. In reality, this was one of the final steps in his last gambit against his opposite, as it was to test both heroes and villains to see which could aid him. As the Anti-Monitor's anti-matter wave began approaching the main Earths of the Multiverse, The Monitor had Harbinger track down said heroes and villains the Monitor needed to fight his foe. He explained to them what was going on, and sent them to protect giant tower-like devices that he had created on several places across space and time; his plan was to use this massive devices to merge the surviving Earths into a single one that could resist the Anti-Monitor's attack.

Unfortunately, disaster struck, as when Harbinger returned, one of her 'split form incarnations' had been attacked by one of the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons and corrupted by it, and that corruption caused her to attack and kill the Monitor. However, he had foreseen the attack and allowed it to happen, as he used his machines and the power within his own body (power then guided by Harbinger, Pariah, and Alexander Luthor Jr, now a young man as mentioned) to pull the remaining five earths (Earth's 1, 2, 4, S, and X) into a protective dimension to shield them from the Anti-Monitor's unstoppable antimatter wall. This bought enough time for the combined forces of the five universe's mightiest heroes to lead a dangerous counter attack on the Anti-Monitor, as they would have to attack him in the anti-matter universe where some of their powers would be lessened. Nonetheless, they succeeded, forcing the villain to retreat…thought at the cost of Supergirl from Earth-1's life.

The lull didn't last long, as the Anti-Monitor attempted a backup plan of using the Psycho Pirate to manipulate the emotions on the five combined (but not yet merged) Earths while he attempted to use an anti-matter cannon to penetrate the shield around the five remaining worlds. To stop him, Barry Allen, the second Flash, sacrificed his life to destroy the machine in one of the finest and most tragic moments in DC history, a moment that has launched Barry to near saint-like status in his fictional world and in the real one.

(Though I must point out that due to the exact nature of Barry Allen's death, which was essentially he ran so fast his body disintegrated and transformed into living Speed Force energy, the fact that he did go so fast combined with the theory of relativity to allow future writers to occasionally use him, as it was said that as he died he crossed all of time and all of space, and hence was able to show up in future events despite being dead, usually to give advice of aid to the Flash, his successor Wally West, or Impulse/Kid Flash, his grandson, before he finally did completely transform and streak back through time once again to become the lightning bolt that hit himself, Barry Allen, in the event that granted him his powers. So yes, he essentially created himself. Yes, it's a pre-destination paradox. Just accept it. When it comes to comics, and especially when it comes to the speedsters of the DC Universe, time and space tend to go out to lunch, and long ones at that).

But the trouble wasn't over, and it got worse, as the various supervillains from the Earths joined forces under Brainiac and Lex Luthor from Earth-1 to attempt the conquest of all the Earths, sparking a gigantic war between hero and villain that was only halted by the intervention of the Spectre, who announced the Anti-Monitor's final plan: he had absorbed the entirety of the anti-matter universe into his own body and was attempting to use this new power to travel to the beginning of time, where he would 'intercept' Krona's experiment and use it to create, instead of an infinite number of positive matter multiverses, an infinite number of anti-matter universes ruled by him. The Spectre could not help against the Anti-Monitor earlier, as the anti-matter universe severely weakened his nigh-omnipotent powers, but he could help now.

Heroes and villains joined forces in response with the heroes traveling to stop the Anti-Monitor, and the villains traveled to the planet Oa in the past to prevent the renegade scientist Krona from performing his experiment. Unfortunately, the villains failed, and Krona went through with his experiment… while the heroes supported the Spectre, whose battle with the Anti-Monitor created an energy overload that, as Krona performed his experiment, shattered space and time…

And the universe snapped back as we returned to modern times, the five combined Earths now merged into one, as the Monitor had planned, with various elements of each combining to form a whole. Instead of infinite positive matter universes, there was now one singular one, with one singular continuity.

Unfortunately, there were two grave side effects. The act of combining the worlds caused various people, events, landmarks, and such, to simply cease to exist, as if they had never been, as the Golden Age Superman finds to his horror as he realizes his world, his friends, and his wife, Lois Lane-Kent, are all gone because the merging effect has caused all but him to cease to exist because he was there at the dawn of time, a factor that existed for several other characters as well. They were not remembered as dying, like the Flash, they just never were.

And the anti-matter universe still existed, as the Anti-Monitor, enraged, drew this new Earth into it, intending to destroy this last bastion of positive matter once and for all. What followed was the Shadow Demon War, wherein many heroes and villains lost their lives against the Anti-Monitor's forces. Finally, the combined efforts of various superheroes, Doctor Light II, the heroic Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three, Darkseid, Superboy of Earth-Prime, and Kal-L, the Superman of Earth-Two (the Golden Age Superman) destroyed the Anti-Monitor by punching him into a star. The star went nova and caused anti-matter waves to erupt, threatening to destroy the entire anti-matter universe. Kal-L and Superboy-Prime were willing to resign to their final fates, as both were the sole survivors of their universes (and Earth-Prime's end hints that indeed, it was not OUR world) and had nothing to live for in the new singular universe, when Alexander Luthor Jr, using his power to open dimensions, revealed that he had created a "paradise dimension" within his own body, and he used it to prevent the Lois Lane of Earth-Two from being erased from existence when the post-Crisis universe was formed, as Golden Age Superman had thought. Using his own body as a portal, Alexander Luthor, Kal-L, and Superboy-Prime went into the "paradise dimension" alongside Lois, and so the Crisis ended.

Or so we thought.

The Aftermath: Characters and other elements established before Crisis on Infinite Earths (especially those eliminated by it) are considered "pre-Crisis" and revised ones are considered "post-Crisis".

Crisis was used, as mentioned, by DC as an opportunity to wipe much of its slate clean and make major changes to many of their major revenue-generating comic book series. John Byrne would completely reboot Superman, retelling his origin in modern (then the mid 80's) time, getting rid of all the Super-Everythings so Superman would once again be 'The Last Son of Krypton', and altering his powers so he was nowhere near as omnipotent. Frank Miller would retell Batman's origin and reestablish him as a dark vigilante protecting a corrupted city in Batman: Year One (which set off a whole bunch of "Character: Year One" stories). George Perez would redo the story of Wonder Woman, and The Flash would be relaunched with Wally West, formerly Kid Flash, taking over the namesake for his deceased mentor. Many characters also had their backstories changed or rebooted in regards to this new world, as all the surviving characters that had existed in the now gone worlds of Earth-2, 4, S, and X were given new origins and stories in this new, singular continuity.

In the post-Crisis timeline, while the DC characters are aware of an epic "Crisis" that still occurred in which numerous heroes opposed the Anti-Monitor's attempts to destroy the (singular) universe, and while the Flash still died, most heroes are unaware of the true nature of the Crisis (the Multiverse and its end). To this Post-Crisis world, Supergirl did not die, as she had 'never existed' in this new timeline. Though some did remember the exact details, one being the Psycho-Pirate, his ramblings were dismissed as lunacy, and it remained a universally forgotten memory.

And that was it.

Except it wasn't. While the concept of merging all worlds to clean up a messy fictional universe may seem great, there are considerable problems in doing so. The changes made in the wake of Crisis were not ushered in consistently. The series itself was published over the course of a year with ongoing series continuing at the same time, and several months of stories set in the "old" continuity continued to be published following its last issue. Furthermore, revamped or relaunched versions of series did not debut at the same time, and DC continued to feature the "old" versions of characters until new versions were launched, sometimes a year or more later. The character of Hawkman was one of the most problematic, as a new version did not appear until 1989; this raised the question as to who this "Hawkman" character was who had been running around with the post-Crisis heroes since 1986. Similar problems faced the Legion of Super-Heroes, a group of heroes set in the future of 3000 and which, through time travel, counted Superboy as a main member. The Crisis proceeded to remove Superboy from DC continuity, and successive attempts to "repair" this removal had met with mixed results. Two major female characters, Donna Troy and Power Girl (Power Girl especially, as her origin was not cleared up until the end point of this discussion) also had their place in the DC Universe become problematic. In 1994, DC produced a mini-series titled _Zero Hour_, which attempted to resolve these problems by again rebooting the DCU, but this time with fewer wholesale revisions. It did not entirely succeed, which leads us to the second part of this very long explanation.

On a final note, in a detail just recently revealed, while Golden Age Superman, Superboy-Prime, Lois Lane-Kent, and Alex Luthor Jr may have left the universe for a 'paradise' Luthor had created, they could still see the new, merged DC universe. Indeed, they watched it.

20 years later, that would come into play…

Interlude: Ok, we're about a third of the way there. But the 90's in comics, and what spawned them, require almost as much discussion as the period from the Golden Age to the Crisis. You may want to get a drink or use the bathroom.

Ready? Here we go.

Real Life III: Who Watches The Writers?

It's fitting that such a cataclysmic chance would occur to DC during the mid 80's, as it coincided with another massive change that was on the horizon, one that was about to sweep the comic world. And while said change was anything but good, what in some ways started it were two exceptional comic series: _The Dark Knight Returns_, by Frank Miller, and _Watchmen_, by Alan Moore.

The Comic Code Authority's influence had begun eroding by the 70's, despite constant revisions on what was 'acceptable' subject matter. By the 80's, it had lessened enough so that even major writers could attempt things, under controlled conditions, the code would normally never allow: not just in terms of content matter, but in intelligent writing and storytelling that could never exist under the 'think of the children' stranglehold the Code had placed on the industry back in the 50's.

And just as the Crisis was wrapping up, that fact was about to become very clear…

The Dark Knight Returns: The book is set during the cold war. It is a dark, depressing world where criminals run amok in the absence of superheroes. Gotham City is terrorized by a gang of vicious and aimless teenage murderers, the Mutants. Bruce Wayne has been retired for ten years following the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. Attempting to bury his moral outrage, Wayne has turned to alcoholism, near-suicidal recreational activities, and has funded the rehabilitation of Two-Face in an attempt to prove to the world - and to himself - that a man's demons can be truly exorcised. On the eve of Commissioner Gordon's forced retirement, however, several events push Wayne to reestablish the presence of his alter ego: a major crime wave hits the city, Two-Face's rehabilitation goes awry, and an enormous bat crashes through the windows of Wayne Manor.

Re-donning the cape and cowl, Batman must deal with a world where even the petty criminals are homicidal maniacs who kill for thrills. He no longer has the absolute support of the police, public, or government. Miller's interpretation of Gotham (and of America) is a place of deep moral ambiguity. Reporters and psychologists see the Joker as a victim and Batman as the madman. The new Police Commissioner is upstanding, capable, and smart, a fitting replacement for Gordon - yet she has no love for the Batman, and hunts him ruthlessly. Even Superman himself has been twisted into a covert agent for America's Cold War agenda, putting his loyalty to the American government above his fight for the American Way. Batman spends no time fretting over these ambiguities; instead, he seeks to impose his stark black-and-white view on a world of relativism. _The Dark Knight Returns_ deals in large part with Wayne's uncompromising obsession with his dual identity, in opposition to a world where duality has gone by the wayside. In this bleak landscape, Batman's obsessions and demons finally, completely, submerge into Bruce Wayne, and the Dark Knight is given free rein to wage his war without inhibition…

Upon its publication, _The Dark Knight Returns_ turned the comic book industry on its ear. It helped to introduce an era of more adult-oriented storytelling to the mainstream world of superhero comic books, and it received media attention the likes of which had never seen before in a medium long believed to be little more than children's entertainment.

And another book was coming that would rip that ear right off…

Watchmen: Originally conceived of by DC as a mini-series involving characters DC had required from the defunct Charleston comic company, Watchmen proceeded to evolve from that into something that was said "What The Maltese Falcon did for detective stories and Shane did for Westerns, _Watchmen_ did for superheroes. It transcended its origins in what was previously considered a lowbrow form of fiction to provide a rich reading experience for all, whether they came in as fans of the genre or not."

Set in an alternative history in which superheroes are real, _Watchmen_ is an adventure and crime drama that incorporates moral philosophy, popular culture, history, art, and science. In October 1985, Walter Kovacs (Rorschach) investigates the murder of New York citizen Edward Blake and learns that Blake was also The Comedian, a longtime costumed adventurer/government agent. Forming a theory that Blake's murder is the first in a plot to eliminate adventurers, Kovacs extends warnings to four others still living in New York; Jon Osterman (Dr. Manhattan), Laurel Jane Juspeczyk (Silk Spectre II), Dan Dreiberg (Nite Owl II) and Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias). Veidt, Juspeczyk and Dreiberg are long retired from crime-fighting, the last two because of the 1977 passage of the Keene Act, banning costumed vigilantes (which Kovacs, by then deeply immersed in his Rorschach identity, ignores). Osterman remains exempt, being (like Blake) a U.S. government agent, though he no longer engages in crimefighting. Veidt had retired voluntarily in 1975 and publicly disclosed his identity, using his reputation and intelligence to build a large personal fortune. The world of _Watchmen_ is dark and violent, with the United States and the Soviet Union edging toward a nuclear showdown. Since the 1959 nuclear accident that transformed Osterman into the super-powered Dr. Manhattan (the only super-powered character in _Watchmen_), the U.S. has enjoyed a distinct strategic advantage, allowing it to force the Soviet Union in a series of defeats, most notably in Vietnam. This imbalance has dramatically increased global tension. In seeming anticipation of global war, American society has a general sense of fatalism about the future. Signs of this in daily life range from "Meltdowns" candy to graffiti inspired by the Hiroshima bombing to the designation of many buildings in New York as fallout shelters. In such a backdrop, the reason behind Blake's death blends with the whole notion of being a hero as well as the fate the world seems to be rushing towards, and asks not only the question "Who watches the watchmen?" but "Do you watch, or do you act?"

What the Dark Knight Returns did for Batman, Watchmen did for the concept of superheroes, turning the seemingly noble aspect of protecting society from its worst elements upside down and inside out, where you are left wondering if the psychotic Kovacs, whose horrific 'origin' and psychopathic viewpoints redefines the whole concept of a hero, is really the one you are to support, and the villain, who will not be named, whose ultimate goal is truly horrific, is really the one you should be booing due to why it was done. In the end, it leaves you wondering which side you can be on. In Watchmen, what comics could be was completely redefined.

But much like fanfiction, just because you are thrilled by something does not mean you can accurately reproduce it yourself. And in any field of entertainment, any form of success or something fresh and new are inevitably followed by one thing above all else: copycats trying to get a piece of the pie.

That real life factor, and how it affected the 90's, was about to start.

V. The Dark Ages

As mentioned, The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen allowed a redefinition of what comics could be…but it was a redefinition that most people could not wholly understand. While some got the whole concept behind the story, most only absorbed the more visceral aspects, internalizing the message that what made these stories so cool was how dark and gruesome they were. Like a parasite, that notion would spread, until it arrived at a state where the ONLY way to do anything worthwhile, anything 'cool', was to do it dark and violently. And if the hero's characters didn't support that, well…just change them, or better yet, replace them. Superman and Batman are for old fogies. Forget serving as an example of the best of America, or as a man at a pinnacle of body and mind solving crimes and saving lives, they need to kill people and break bones. That's 'cool'.

While Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen set the standard of what darkness and nihilism could do with comics, perhaps the first example of those not fully understanding the intricacies behind such storytelling and using it anyway came with the Death of Jason Todd.

Jason Todd was the second Robin, the original, Dick Grayson, having grown up and changed his name to Nightwing. When Todd debuted in the early 80's, he was little more then a carbon copy of Robin, literally: he was also a circus acrobat whose parents were murdered by villains to squeeze money from a circus, and was hence taken in by Batman and trained to be Robin. While not original, the readers seemed to accept him.

Then the Crisis came and went, and the writers of Batman got the idea that maybe they should reset Jason's origin, do something different. The idea arose that they should make Jason a street kid, put him on the opposite side of the law at first, hey, have Batman meet him when he tries to steal the tires of the Batmobile!

In the end it was put forth, and Todd's character, originally unfailingly cheerful, was changed thusly. However, the post-Crisis Todd never blossomed under Batman's tutelage. He was, in contrast to his original self, impulsive, reckless, hard-headed, and full of rage. This would sometimes provide him with great strength and courage, but would more often lead him to take unfounded chances and risks. One story implied that Todd actually murdered a criminal (the criminal had brutally raped a woman, later causing the woman to kill herself, and the criminal got off with no charges due to being the son of a diplomat). And the readers, who had not quite yet 'turned over' (which will make sense in a moment), reacted with immense dislike that such a petulant, violent brat had usurped the noble mantle of Robin.

So in the end DC made a historical decision: with recent technology allowing easy mass telephone polls, DC set up a storyline where Jason's life was put in extreme jeopardy and the only ones who could decide his ultimate fate were the readers themselves: they had 30 hours at a specific date to vote via a telephone poll whether he lived or died.

The final result: 5,343 to 5,271 for Jason dying. And so he did.

And in doing so, Jason touched off a new movement in the DC comics world, as the death of Jason struck Batman to the core and nearly drove him mad, an event that began Batman's long decline into a realm perhaps unthought of.

But that comes a bit later. For now, Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen had allowed the idea that dark and violentcool to seep into the mindset of comic writers and younger comic fans. Two more things would merge with this concept to give birth to the 90's era of comic, which, like Icarus and his wings, would soar to heights never thought possible…before the sun melted the wax…

Real Life IV: Anatomy? What's That?

In 1988, an artist known as Rob Liefeld completed pencils for DC for a Hawk and Dove miniseries, and after a dispute with DC, proceeded to go to Marvel, where he was given the reigns to a comic known as the New Mutants, a young group of heroes. Liefeld's art style, extremely bombastic and flashy (and also highly unrealistic) eventually caused him to start becoming popular, VERY popular, a factor that allowed him to increasingly take control of the book's story until he was both writing and drawing it, at which point he transformed the series into X-Force, a book whose No 1 issue proceeded to sell four million copies.

Liefeld was the frontrunner of a new trend that began as the 90's emerged: the superstar artist, whose books were sold solely on the basis of their art style, which was often filled with overmuscled men and women with gigantic breasts, waists as thin as pencils, and wearing as little as possible. While the educated eye could almost immediately catch the gross distortions of anatomy that such drawing showed, such criticisms were lost under a tidal wave of young teenage boys, whose hormone-addled and still developing minds were thrilled by the violence and the sex present in the comics. In Liefeld's wake came artists such as Jim Lee and Todd McFarlene, and the whole comic industry began to change, morphing to suit only such artists and nothing else due to the sheer number of books they sold.

That giant number was due to the final factor that would explode in the late 80's and early 90's…

Real Life V: Damn You Antique Road Show

In one of the many ironies in life, the collector's market that erupted in comics in the late 80's nearly destroyed the business after bringing it to unprecedented heights.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths and the stories by Miller and Moore had done more then redefine comics, it had made people realize something: if you could find a copy of an older comic that was in good condition, it was potentially worth a lot of money.

Articles appeared in newspapers, magazines and television newsmagazines pointing out how rare, high-demand comics such as _Action Comics_ #1 (1st Appearance Superman) or _Incredible Hulk_ #181 (1st Appearance Wolverine) could be sold for hundreds or even thousands of times what they originally cost on the newsstands. And they also planted the idea that if you bought the comics of today and sealed them off, then maybe one day your comics might be worth just as much, if not more.

And once this was realized, the publishers proceeded to milk it for all it was worth, as they took advantage of this environment of speculation by using several techniques specifically designed to exploit the collectors' market. Such techniques included selling a comic with multiple different covers (knowing that many collectors would buy one of each version), selling certain issues in sealed polybags (knowing that collectors would buy two copies, one to keep preserved in the bag, and one to open and read), and publishing comics with "gimmicks" such as glow-in-the-dark, hologram-enhanced, or foil-embossed covers. These gimmicks were almost entirely cosmetic in nature, and almost never extended to the actual content of the comics. However, many speculators would buy multiple copies of these issues, anticipating that demand would allow them to sell them for a substantial profit at some nebulous point in the future. Sales soared to unheard of heights, many comics selling millions of issues each, numbers almost unheard of today.

And one can only shudder at the stupidity and greed that kept people from realizing one crucial thing: the reason such comics were rare and expensive was because HARDLY ANY OF THEM EXISTED ANYMORE. The reason Action Comics #1 was so rare was because most of the copies were tossed out by mothers cleaning their kid's rooms, hence leaving only small numbers of such copies available, and even less in what would be dubbed 'mint condition'. But if you print millions of copies and everyone saves them, they're not rare any more, and hence aren't worth anything, you idiots!

But yet parents were buying comics in the idea that they could sell them in 10-15 years and put their kids through college, a fair indication on how far and how persuasive the idea was. It was the third and final step for what would define comics in the early 90's, and what would almost destroy the market in a way Wertham wished he could have.

In Watchmen and Dark Knight, the idea had been leaked down to lesser writers that only violent, vicious, and otherwise unheroic by the traditional standards of heroes characters were cool. In the rise of Liefeld and his ilk, the idea that only the art of such artists, who often wrote and drew characters like the so called 'cool' archtype, with their ridiculous muscles and giant guns (and pouches that don't have ANYTHING IN THEM) was what sold comics: the story was irrelevant. And with the collector's market, the previous two ideas combined with the collector's frenzy and caused all comic companies to think that only that would sell.

The 90's were dawning, and with them a black plague on the comic industry: the birth of EXTREME.

VI. XXXXXXXXTTTTTTTTTTTRRRRRRREEEEEEEMMMMMMM!11111!11!1!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

It was the best because comics were selling at unprecedented levels, as the three combined things as mentioned brought in a new massive audience that, at the time, couldn't get enough of the likes of Liefeld and Lee. While the previous audience found Jason Todd's more violent side abhorrent, the new readership proceeded to overwhelm them with their perverted idea of what heroes were. Written by lesser writers in the vein of Miller and Moore, the idea that heroes had to kill, had to have giant guns and shoot people, had to be mean and nasty and say words like shit, and had to have gigantic muscles (for males) and breasts (for females), because that was the only thing that was 'cool', became the dominant mindset, and with all the comics in that vein selling by the crate, the comic companies were literally rolling in money, Marvel especially, whose X-Men had been given a gigantic boost by Liefeld and was at unseen levels of popularity, which Marvel tried to milk as much as possible by putting out six or seven X-Titles a month. And over at DC, wanting a piece of that pie, the men in charge had realized something else from the Jason Todd poll: while the media got a hold of the concept (readers kill teenage boy! Never mind it wasn't a REAL teenage boy, or the original Robin…nor did he stay dead, though that came later…) and reported it, it got people's attention. Attention increased sales. And with Marvel setting the charts on fire with X-Men, DC had to do something to counter them. True, their recently released Batman movie had been a great success, but there could be more. They could go further. After all, if killing some unliked sidekick got so much buzz, imagine what they could do if they killed someone bigger…

They could kill their flagship character, the man who gave birth to it all, Superman.

And damn could they sell a lot of comics in the process.

While Superman did not stay dead (hell, by the terms of the story, he never even 'died' in the first place, though the intricacies of that is a story for another time), Superman's death, and its reason, as a reaction and attempt to cash in on the new era of 'EXTREME', was the touching off of DC's Dark Ages, as the aura of 'EXTREME' and the money it brought overwhelmed the notion of good writing and characterization. With new characters being introduced that were oh so 'EXTREME', characters like Superman and Batman looked like dinosaurs by comparison. They had to go, or be severely altered, lest they be left behind.

And so Superman was killed off, and was replaced by not one but FOUR imitators: one was a violent energy shooting killer, one was a man in armor who battled in a brutal violent neighborhood much like the one presented in Dark Knight Returns, and one was a teenager who fought crime more to show off and impress girls then to do good. Of the four, only a seemingly resurrected and cyborgized Superman seemed to have any qualities of the original Superman. And he turned out to be the villain.

(On a side note, the teen Superman, who became the post-Crisis Superboy, was cloned from Superman's cells, but since the lab that did do could not perfectly duplicate the kryptonian cells, the clone had to be made from part kryptonian and part human cells. Whose human cells? It would be, much later, revealed to be Lex Luthor…which will be notable in a bit…).

And it didn't end there. Batman's back was broken by a new supervillain known as Bane and replaced by a man named Jean-Paul Valley, who had severe mental issues and proceeded to turn the Batman suit into an armor clad death machine armed with razor sharp batarangs and flamethrowers. Wonder Woman was replaced, her replacement was killed, and then Wonder Woman was killed herself and revived. Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern, originally a paragon of justice and humanity, was abruptly turned insane after a comic event destroyed his home city (albeit when none of his supporting characters were there) and after being denied the power by his bosses to undo the event he went on a rampage as he proceeded to kill off the Green Lantern Corps, as well as his mortal enemy Sinestro, before destroying the Guardians of the Universe and sucking up all the power of the Central Power Battery of the Green Lantern Corps to become the villain Parallax, an event that would swiftly balloon into what is considered one of the worst decisions ever made, as Hal had survived great tragedy before and having him suddenly snap and turn evil when he was considered such a noble hero was reviled by his fans. Said fans would proceed to bother DC about it for the next decade, which will be expanded on later…

Everywhere, heroes were twisted and altered, given new costumes and attitudes, and barraged with tragedy and horror, all trying to tap into the era of 'EXTREME'. It was truly a 'Dark Age'.

Especially since it was all about to collapse like a house of cards.

Real Life VI. Life of Reilly

If anything can really show, in great detail, just why the comic industry utterly collapsed in the mid-late 90's, the VERY VERY VERY LOOOONNNGGGGG (it makes this article look like a drabble, you have been warned) Internet article 'Life of Reilly' (any search engine should provide it) can. It revolves around a Spiderman storyline that has since become a dirty word for Marvel fans: the Clone Saga.

The idea was simple: Spiderman was supposed to be happy go lucky, tossing off wisecracks and jokes, and yes he occasionally got into serious situations, but for the most part he was light-hearted. However, much like DC, Spiderman had in the past few years been darkened a great deal, and on top of that had grown older, gotten married, and was expecting a child with his wife. The decision was made in the thought that Peter Parker no longer defined what Spiderman was…so perhaps he should be replaced.

This replacement would come from a 15 year storyline left back in the mid-70's, where Spiderman was cloned and forced to fight his clone. The story ended with Spiderman (Peter Parker) beating his clone and going back to his life after disposing of the body.

The story was then rewritten so that the clone did not die…and that maybe that the clone WASN'T. That the clone had actually beaten Peter Parker and stolen his life, forcing the real Peter Parker to scratch out a new one under a new name, Ben Reilly.

The basic idea was that Reilly, who was not tied down, could take over the Spiderman identity while Peter (the supposed 'real clone') could go off into the sunset with his wife and child. It might even have worked.

To understand why it did not, go read the article when you have some time to kill. The summery is this: Marvel executives had become so blinded by dollar signs that they forced the writers to stretch out the storyline and make it more and more complicated in the process to sell as many comics as possible…a process that backfired horribly as many readers finally gave up and abandoned Spiderman, and comics, entirely when it simply would not resolve itself. Oh, and as it turned out, Ben was the clone after all.

The Clone Saga is perhaps the zenith of the 'EXTREME' era bubble bursting, as casual comic readers, drawn by the sex and the violence, finally came to realize what intelligent readers had at the beginning: the 'EXTREME' era was all sizzle and no steak. The characters were one-dimensional, perhaps even less so, derivative, and repetitive. Not to mention that their anatomy was completely impossible, with muscles that a human body could not have and their limbs and bodies often in positions that the human form simply could not achieve. Rob Liefeld quickly went from superstar artist to the butt of the comic industry's jokes due to this, as it was revealed he had never studied anatomy and never planned to. This was made cruelly apparent, as after the bubble bursting of the Clone Saga, as the deathblow for the industry nearly came once more as Marvel, now losing money by the bucketload, attempted to reboot all its major titles in the wake of another massive company-wide storyline (The Attack of Onslaught) and handed the reigns of said reboot to Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld.

To say it was a disaster, especially on Liefield's side, is understating. To this day, the defining picture of Liefield's unique brand of 'art' is a poster he did of Captain America…whose chest muscles are so grotesquely large they literally extend more then two feet from his chin, one that came during the so-called 'Heroes Reborn' phase.

What really came was the second near death of the comic industry came, as the 'EXTREME' bubble bursting was complicated even more by the fact that Marvel had been purchased just as it began back in the late 80's by investor Ronald Perelman, who took advantage of the boom by selling hundreds of millions in junk bonds and basically strip-mining the company for his own gain. When it exploded, Marvel nearly went down with it, and Perelman and investor Carl Icahn battled it out in court to seize control of the comic company, which was only saved by a bankruptcy declaration and the efforts of several men from the Marvel Subsidary Toy Biz wresting it from the two investors before they could eat it alive for themselves. Marvel eventually got back on its feet with its movie productions, but it had teetered on the edge, nearly dragging the whole industry down with it, as Marvel and DC were now left with the litter of dozens of junk storylines influenced by the 'EXTREME' bubble and all the damage caused as all the new fans, caught on to the fact that the Emperor had no clothes and left in disgust, the older, more mature readers having headed out already.

It was not all bad though. While comics had indeed been dominated by the now properly discarded to the trashcan of history 'EXTREME' style, the 90's also produced some of the greatest comic series ever written, chief of which was the genius Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, a series of comics written for DC's new adult imprint, Vertigo, that took the genre, like Moore, in directions and heights never thought possible. Sandman No 18, 'A Midsummer's Night's Dream', received a World Fantasy Award for short fiction in 1991, a feat thought impossible for a mere 'comic book' (which also made the old narrow minded fogies in the World Fantasy Awards to change the rules so comics would not be eligible to win again, flips them off smug self righteous bastards…). And others followed. Garth Ennis wrote the bloody, disturbing, blasphemous, funny, and deeply moving western/theological piece Preacher, while Alan Moore took the reigns of the Swamp Thing comic for DC and took the former monster in directions of brilliance no one else could have thought of. Elsewhere in DC, Grant Morrison redefined surreal in his work on the Doom Patrol and redefined fiction and reality itself with his work on Animal Man, and also wrote one of the most unique (and one of the most messed up making no sense at all probably because he was on drugs while he wrote most of it no joke) conspiracy theory series in comics history, The Invisibles. Near the end of the 90's, Warren Ellis' vitriolic and thought-provoking postcyberpunk sci-fi series Transmetropolitan and Brian Azzarello's brilliant noir/pulp series 100 Bullets would continue this series of great writing, to try and take the bad taste out of the mouth of all those sick of the now dead era of 'EXTREME'.

But for all 'EXTREME' did, and how it brought 'The Dark Ages' to DC Comics, it also had one more good effect. It would later allow it to be used in a storyline…

VII. Follow The Yellow Ink Road

Comics would rebuild for the next few years, as writers took back the medium. Over time, several comic events would occur…

1. Hal Jordan: The fans that were furious over DC's abrupt changing of him into the villain Parallax had not lessened their rage, and over the years DC would attempt to appease the fans for their choice, while refusing to bring Hal back as a Green Lantern so his replacement, Kyle Raynor, could have a chance. After two major storylines as villains, Hal seemingly came to his senses and sacrificed his life to re-ignite Earth's sun after it had been devoured by a Sun-Eater, nearly condemning the Earth to its 'Final Night', hence saving the planet and seemingly redeeming his previous sins. That was not good enough. So Hal was brought back and made the new host of the Spectre, the near omnipotent spirit of Vengeance. He was fully redeemed and on a new role.

That was not good enough. And the fans continued to complain…

2. The Speed Force: A note that needs to be made: as you recall, I mentioned that Barry Allen had not so much died as he transformed into Speed Force energy. What the Speed Force is, if you don't know, is another story. While the superfast runners of the DC Universe all had different origins for how they got their speed, the true 'source' of all their power would eventually be revealed in the Flash comics in the 90's: a universal 'energy' that powered all those who could run fast (well, ALMOST all of them). Once discovered, the ability of speedsters multiplied dramatically, allowing the Flash and his ilk to pull stunts like you could never believe. What the Speed Force was, though, in its heart, was a Deus Ex Machina of the comic writers so they wouldn't have to explain the problems of such things as friction and metabolism of a human body going at superspeed: it was all handled by the powers of the Speed Force. In any case, a human speedster who ran fast enough could actually pierce the barrier between their world and the Speed Force dimension, but such a tactic was quite dangerous as once a speedster had crossed over, it was very hard to come back. Only if you had something immensely strong back on Earth, like say, a loved one, could a speedster return. Known in some circles as the 'Goes Fast', as a way of poking fun at all the things the Speed Force does despite the fact it's just the power to go really fast. For example, the Flash has a costume composed of Speed Force energy, which means Wally has pants made out of GOES FAST, and so on. Moving on…

3. The Downfall of Batman: While Tim Drake would come to replace Jason Todd as Robin, and hence stabilize the Batman, the 90's marked a change over the next fifteen years, as the Batman would slowly go from brooding dark knight to paranoid self-righteous asshole. Perhaps this was no more evidence in the late 90's JLA storyline 'Tower of Babel' where it was revealed Batman had 'contingency plans' to assassinate all of his JLA teammates should any of them go rogue…contingency plans that a villain stole and used against the JLA. While they did not succeed in killing them, the fact that Batman HAD such plans would drive a deep wedge between the vigilante and his fellow heroes, and while the wedge would seem to lessen later, Batman's sanctimonious attitude towards anyone other then himself and his quest continued to grow…

4. President Luthor: Post-Crisis Lex-Luthor had been re-imagined as the most evil thing that existed in the mid-80's, a businessman, and after several years of ups and downs, Luthor ran for, and actually won, the presidency of the USA. He would remain President for several years in real life terms, using his new power and position to play out various schemes, until he eventually overplayed his hand in the opening storyline of the new Superman/Batman comic in 2003, as he attempted to blame Superman for a kryptonite meteor approaching the Earth. It backfired, as he instead raised questions about himself as Superman and Batman uncovered a plot of Luthor's to further torment Batman (due to other storylines of him and Batman feuding) that involved tricking Batman into thinking that the Superman villain Metallo was the man who killed Batman's parents. With the two heroes closing in, and in desperation, Luthor used a variant combination of the "super-steroid" Venom (a steroid mainly used by Batman villain Bane), liquid synthetic green kryptonite, and a high tech robot battlesuit to battle Superman directly. Unfortunately, the madness that is a side effect of Venom took hold, and he revealed his true colors during the battle. Superman defeated him and smashed his presidency, and Luthor appeared to perish…but that was just 'appeared', as he limped to safety…and he promised a reckoning…a crisis…

5. Donna Troy: Originally Wonder Girl of the New Teen Titans back in the 80's, Donna Troy changed her name to Troia, and was a relatively minor character throughout the 90's. In the late 90's, a teen superhero group known as Young Justice would emerge, and enjoy a fairly popular run, while a series known as the Titans, featuring the adult versions of the members of several of the Teen Titans series, would not be so mucb enjoyed. However, with the release of the Cartoon Network Teen Titans show (you know, the one with the story that I'm trying to explain with this), Young Justice and the Titans were brought together in a storyline known as 'Graduation Day', where an android known as Indigo came from the future to seemingly prevent a great Crisis, but instead accidentally activated a rogue Superman android whose rampage was only stopped at the cost of Donna Troy's life. In grief afterwards, both groups disbanded, as various members of both proceeded to form two new groups: a new incarnation of the Teen Titans (perhaps inspired by the popularity of the cartoon show), and the more vigilante style Outsiders. But Donna Troy did not entirely die, as she appeared to be reborn elsewhere…and her role would soon become apparent…

And on a side note, Indigo would be rebuilt and reprogrammed with no memory of what she caused, and proceeded to become a member of the newly formed Outsiders…

6. The 'Silver Age Circle Jerk'. As mentioned, the Crisis on Infinite Earths back in the 80's had mostly been made to clear out all the clutter, but as the 90's wore on, new writers came on board DC who had grown up on those comics and had a (some would say irrational) love affair with them. And when you love something in comics, that something will often get a lot of play, or even reintroduced entirely, as Superman, once again made the last Son of Krypton, would eventually start getting company again as the 00's arrived, as Krypto the Superdog was re-introduced in the early 00's. And he was soon joined by a re-imagined version of Kara Zor-El, who had died and then 'been erased' in the original Crisis, who became the new Supergirl (there had been a few other Supergirl attempts in the years since the Crisis, but they all had different origins, while the latest one would mirror the original Supergirl created in the late 50's). The city of Kandor would return too, and people are probably already drawing up plans for the return of the Supermobile. Whether you liked or disliked these creative decisions is a matter of personal taste, but it does once again note the impermanence of comics: the original Crisis was done to clean away all this clutter, and now it was being brought back because the new writers had liked it. And when the new writers move on, who's to know what the NEXT set of new writers will do…but we're getting off track…

Tired? Take a break. We're finally getting to the last third…though that's not short either I'm afraid. As mentioned, the 'EXTREME' era had caused what could almost be considered an era of darkness in DC…and in 2004, a writer named Brad Metzinger, the first of many writers from DC working together, would set into motion a storyline that would once again shake the DC World to its core…

VII. Identity Crisis

(Warning: HEAVY SPOILERS FROM NOW ON. If you want to read these comics yourself and don't want it spoiled, DON'T READ THESE)

It began with a horrific murder. It ended with terrible secrets exposed, new lines drawn throughout the DC universe, and the planted seeds of a brand new Crisis.

It began with a somewhat minor character in the DC world, Elongated Man, a Mr. Fantastic rip-off who had never really played a major role but was a somewhat enjoyable character, being a comedian and a expert detective slash mystery enthusiast who would always bring his wife, Sue Dibny, along on his adventures. They were a sweet couple, whose identity was publicly known.

In the opening issue, while Ralph is off preparing for his 'birthday mystery', Sue is attacked and murdered in her home. Despite being protected by extremely sophisticated security measures, someone somehow made their way past all of them and killed her.

The DC superhero community rallies to find the murderer. Early suspicion rests on Doctor Light, as it is revealed (in a brutal retcon) that he had raped Sue Dibny years earlier after sneaking aboard the JLA satellite headquarters. It is also revealed that the Atom, Black Canary, Hawkman, the Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), and Green Arrow, who were all part of the JLA at the time, allowed the sorcerer Zatanna to do something drastic: after Dr. Light, captured after the rape, threatened to do the same thing that he had done to Sue to every one of the superhero's loved ones that he could find, she mind-wiped the captured Doctor Light, not only to remove his memory of his rape of Dibny, but to alter his personality to make him less of a threat. Thinking that Light may now have murdered Sue, the superheroes attempt to capture Doctor Light, who has hired Deathstroke the Terminator to protect him. In the ensuing fight with Deathstroke, Doctor Light regains his memory, is enraged at the violation, and escapes. Worse, the knowledge that the Justice League had actually been mindwiping villains for years to remove such vital information as secret identities from their memories comes to the surface, which not only causes shockwaves through the hero community, but the villain one as well.

The murderer next apparently tries to hang Jean Loring, the ex-wife of the Atom. The attempt fails. Next, the murderer sends a death threat to Lois Lane (Superman's wife). Finally, a hit is put together by Captain Boomerang, a washed-up Flash villain, on Jack Drake, Robin's (Tim Drake's) father. However, Jack Drake finds a note warning him of the attempt on his life, as well as a gun, both sent by some unknown party. As Jack Drake fatally shoots Captain Boomerang, the latter manages to throw a razor boomerang at Drake's chest, also fatally. Batman takes the note into custody before the authorities or the media can learn of it.

As the investigation continues, Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond) is killed attempting to interrogate some supervillains when the Shadow-Thief stabs him with Shining Knight's enchanted sword, breaching his skin. Approaching critical mass, Firestorm flies into the sky and explodes.

Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) reveals to the Flash (Wally West) that Batman had walked in on the heroes mind-wiping Doctor Light. When Batman tried to prevent them from doing so, they mind-wiped Batman's memory of the event as well.

Eventually, the autopsy of Sue Dibny's body by Doctor Mid-Nite reveals that Sue Dibny had been killed by an infarction (necrosis of tissue due to upstream obstruction of its arterial blood supply) in her brain. A microscopic scan of Dibny's brain reveals the shocking find of two tiny footprints on her brain, which caused the infarction. Mid-Nite and Mister Terrific, along with Batman, separately realize that Sue was murdered by someone with access to the technology of the Atom, which grants one the ability to shrink himself to subatomic size. Before they can discover whether it was Atom or someone using his technology, Ray Palmer (the Atom's civilian identity), whose closeness with his ex-wife, Jean Loring, had been rekindled by the unsuccessful attempt on her life, realizes, from her mention of the note to Jack Drake (which she should not have known about), that she was the killer. Loring had used the shrinking technology to travel to the Dibny's house through the phone lines, bypassing all the security entirely, and entered Sue's brain, where she caused the fatal infarction. Loring asserted that she didn't mean to kill Sue, nor for Jack Drake to be killed, arguing that she sent him the note and the gun in order for him to protect himself. She tells Palmer that she undertook the plan, which including faking the attempt on her own life, in order to bring her and Ray closer together, but Palmer realizes that she is insane, and Loring is committed to Arkham Asylum.

Identity Crisis, much like Watchmen, had proceeded to challenge the nature of what superheroes were, as they were caught between such an act as violating the minds of villains with the harsh truth that the villains could do terrible things with the knowledge they had learned unless such steps were taken. Such a fact would reverberate through the superhero books…even as a few more events came into play…

1. Green Lantern: Rebirth. After ten years of bitching, DC finally gave into the rantings of the fanboys and wrote a six issue miniseries to revive Hal Jordan and restore him as a Green Lantern. To redeem his character, Parallax was retconned from a name Jordan chose to an actual evil entity in and of itself, an ancient demonic parasitic entity dating back to the dawn of time, that actually was the sentient embodiment of fear, and which traveled from world to world, feeding off the fear of sentient beings, and causing entire civilizations to destroy themselves out of paranoia.

It was this creature, yellow in color, which the Guardians of the Universe imprisoned within the central Power Battery on Oa using fear's opposite energy, willpower. Parallax had lain dormant for billions of years, his true nature covered up by the Guardians to prevent anyone from trying to free it, and thus, it had eventually come to be referred to as simply "the yellow impurity." This was the reason why Green Lantern rings were, as long established, useless against the color yellow: Parallax weakened its power over the corresponding spectrum, and hence only someone capable of overcoming great fear could master the power ring. When the renegade Sinestro was later imprisoned in the Power Battery himself, his Qwardian yellow power ring tapped into Parallax's power and awakened it, allowing it to reach out to Hal Jordan through Jordan's own ring when Jordan was at his weakest, spending years influencing him, causing him increasing self-doubt, and even causing his hair to turn white at the temples. Parallax's control over Jordan exploded with Jordan's grief over the destruction of Coast City, and it was Parallax who was responsible for Jordan's subsequent murderous activity, his apparent killing of Sinestro (which was later revealed to be an illusion on Sinestro's part, created as the final stage of Jordan's susceptibility to the impurity in order to break his will), and Jordan's destruction of the Central Battery, which allowed Parallax to graft itself onto Jordan's soul.

It was because Parallax was now free that Kyle Rayner's own ring did not have any weakness against yellow, and the Spectre explained to Jordan that it drew in Jordan's soul in hopes of eradicating the parasitic Parallax from it. The Spirit of Vengeance eventually removed Parallax from Jordan's soul, and itself from Jordan, departing in order to move onto the next recipient of the Spirit (or so it seemed), while the Guardian of the Universe Ganthet guided Jordan's soul back to his own body, which Ganthet had preserved after Jordan re-ignited the Sun during _Final Night_.

His soul and thoughts finally clear for the first time in a long time, Jordan was resurrected as a mortal human again, once again taking his place as a Green Lantern, the white portions of his hair even restored to their original brown. He fought Sinestro, who revealed himself as alive for the first time since his faked death, forcing the renegade to retreat back into the antimatter universe. Together, Jordan, and the Green Lanterns Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Kilowog freed Ganthet, whom Parallax had possessed after his expulsion from Jordan's soul, and imprisoned the parasite back in the Central Power Battery on Oa.

Hal was back, and comic fans had a new joke to make, as Parallax looked less like an ancient evil entity as a gigantic yellow space bug. But there was a severe consequence: the Spectre was left without a host…and hence, unknown at the time…left vulnerable…

2. Batman...Again. As mentioned, the heroes mindwiped him to prevent him from stopping their mindwipe of Doctor Light…but Batman's immense intelligence eventually allowed him to figure this out. It did nothing to help his paranoia, and even increased it, as Batman felt he needed an edge in his dealings with superhumans, who he had long ago stopped trusting, think eventually their power would go to their heads in one way or another and they would try something. He needed to keep an eye on them…

3. Teen Titans/The Outsiders: The Insiders. Remember how Superboy's cloned DNA was half human? And said human was Lex Luthor? Luthor, licking his wounds after his downfall from the White House, revealed that the reason he donated his DNA to help create Superboy was to generate a sleeper agent that he could use to destroy Superman, and with a code phrase, 'Aut vincere aut mort', he activated the so called 'evil genes' within Superboy, Luthor seemingly taking control of his mind as he shaved his head bald and viciously attacked his own teammates. Meanwhile, over in the Outsiders, the robot from the future, Indigo, finally revealed her true self: She was actually Brainiac 8, every bit the ruthless, inhuman villain that previous Brainiacs were. Indigo as the Outsider's knew her was essentially a subprogram, designed by her future masters to endear her to the superhero community, if such a task was necessary. Brainiac 8 had been sent back in time to kill Donna Troy, because a living Donna would negate Coluan (Brainiac's species) domination over the "organics" after a crisis, and since time was fluid, Brainiac 8 had to make sure Donna Troy stayed dead. Joining with the present incarnation of Brainiac, Brainiac 6, who was working with Lex Luthor and his new 'son', the four began a plan to 'wipe out the future of superheroes' and engineered an attack on the injured Titans and Outsiders…an attack that backfired as Superboy wrested his mind back from the genetic programming Luthor had installed and turned on his 'father', while a mighty blast from Starfire seemingly destroyed Brainiac 6 (though the evil intelligence had cheated death before). Finally, the Indigo persona herself wrested control back from Brainac 8, and revealed herself to be a genuine personality. Weeping, she begged her boyfriend Shift to kill her before the Brainiac 8 persona could harm the people she now loved. Shift, in tears, transformed her molecular structure into flesh, killing her in the process, as while he could turn her body to flesh, he could not imbue said flesh with life. Luthor retreated, while Superboy, in terrible guilt over the injuries he had inflicted on his friends, retreated to the Kent farm, where he sat and wondered where his place in the world was.

4. Donna Troy…Again. Troy was supposedly due to play an important role, (hence the whole mucking around with Brainiac 8 to try and ensure her permanent death) and she did. As it turned out, Troy was the Anti-Monitor's version of Harbinger, and hence is the repository of knowledge of every alternate universe version of herself that once existed, which means that with the right prodding she could remember the original Multiverse as well as its history. As mentioned, she was apparently reborn after her death: the exact circumstances being The Titans of Myth, realizing that she was the child who was destined to save them from some impending threat, brought her to New Chronus and implanted false memories within her mind to make her believe she was the original Goddess of the Moon and wife of Coeus. The Titans of Myth incited war between other worlds near New Chronus in order to gain new worshippers. They would then use the combined power of their collective faith to open a passageway into another reality when they would be safe from destruction. Donna was another means to that end until she was found by the Titans and The Outsiders who restored her true memories, which set off a chain of events that ended in the destruction or imprisonment of the Titans of Myth and Donna's learning of the information listed above. Now Donna has a new mission…

VIII. Countdown

With all these events happening in various comics, a focal point was needed…and in March 2005, Countdown to Infinite Crisis was released, as the point of all these stories became clear: Infinite Crisis, the sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths. And it began with a doozy…

The main plot concerns Ted Kord, the superhero and former Justice League member known as the Blue Beetle (who, while not a major character, was a very popular cult character), investigating the theft of funds from his company that has left him nearly bankrupt. Most of the other DC heroes dismiss Kord's concerns, either politely or outright. Only Booster Gold, another second-string superhero and Kord's best friend, eventually decides to help complete the investigation, but before he can he is seriously injured by an explosive trap. Alone and unaided, Blue Beetle continues to follow the clues to Switzerland, while plot details note the following…

1) The Spectre does not seem to be in a good mood…

2) Batman has built something, and it doesn't look nice…

3) Lex Luthor, as well as five other major DC Villains: Deathstroke the Terminator, Black Adam, Talia, The Calculator, and Doctor Psycho, have joined forces with a plan to form a Society of Villains, kept very carefully under their control to have their greatest revenge ever against the heroes who they have learned are nowhere near as righteous as they claimed…

…as we come back to Blue Beetle, when he infiltrates the castle base of the evil (but not very important) Checkmate organization. There he confronts Maxwell Lord, who had once financed a branch of the Justice League and who is now revealed to be a criminal mastermind, as he is using his Justice League files to plan something huge, a plan which is aided by something else: Batman's satellite, the Brother MKI, aka Brother Eye, which he built to keep an eye on the superhero community, which he considers a threat to the human race after the way they mind-wiped him. The satellite can, thanks to Lord's theft and modification of it, also create O.M.A.C.S, Observational Meta-human Activity Constructs, which are created from Brainiac-13 (Not related to the previous Brainiacs, there's a lot of Brainiacs!) derived technology acquired by the U.S. Department of Defense and Lexcorp, which was introduced into general vaccine supplies and hence randomly turn humans into superpowerful cyborgs specifically designed to kill metahumans. An OMAC easily defeats Kord, and Maxwell offers to let Kord join his plans, which involved the destruction of all metas for the sake of humanity. After Kord's refusal to join the anti-metahuman strike, Lord shoots the Blue Beetle in the head, killing him. He then immediately activates Project OMAC, declaring it's time to save the human race from itself…

And meanwhile, the reason behind the Spectre's strange aforementioned behavior is revealed elsewhere: The Psycho-Pirate, one of the few to remember the true details of the original Crisis, has been recruited by (then) unknown forces, and under their command has planted the black diamond of the villain Eclipso in Jean Loring's cell. Loring, sexually abused by the other inmates, did not need any motivation to take it, as she became the new Eclipso. And her first plan is quite vicious: with the Spectre hostless, confused, and without meaning, she plans to seduce him, and then convince him that he must destroy all magical beings in the universe. And secretly aided by the Psycho-Pirate's emotion manipulating abilities, she does just that…

And on one final note, out in deep space, things are going wrong, things that will spark an interstellar war…

IX. Final Four (and a few other details)

With Countdown having set these plots in motion, four six part miniseries were released to lead up to Crisis, as everything began to fall fully into place.

1. Day of Vengeance: Jean Loring, ex-wife of Ray Palmer (The Atom) and murderer of Sue Dibny and Jack Drake in 2004's mini-series _Identity Crisis_, is transformed into a new version of the villainous Eclipso. Loring escapes from her Arkham Asylum cell to unknown whereabouts. Meanwhile, the Spectre, the vengeful right hand of God, is now without a host since the revival of Hal Jordan. Eclipso manages to direct the Spectre against magic, declaring it the source of evil. The Spectre vows to destroy all of magic.

Having witnessed his attack first hand, the magical hero Enchantress summons Ragman (also a magic based hero) to the Mist Woods to save her from the Spectre, who has just defeated and killed "seven hundred combat trained sorcerers" who were having an informal gathering. As another sorcerer provides a distraction, they retreat to the Oblivion Bar, a bar between dimensions where magically powered beings meet to trade war stories. The subject of the day at the bar is the Spectre and his attacks on magic across the world. The bartender is Jim Rook, the Nightmaster, and the bouncer is Blue Devil, all magic based heroes. When Enchantress proclaims that the magic world needs to make a stand against the Spectre, she gets no agreement, save for Detective Chimp (an intelligent via magic crime solving chimpanzee. Yeah you read that right).

Detective Chimp reveals that Phantom Stranger, one of several "big-gun" magicians that Ragman believes is better suited for this type of fight, has been turned into a mouse as he emphasizes the importance of fighting the Spectre. These five are joined by Nightshade (another magic based hero) as the Shadowpact and they all agree to take the fight to the Spectre. While the mystics plan this attack, the ancient wizard Shazam recruits his superhero Captain Marvel in a bid against the Spectre. Also notable, the other "big guns" mentioned by the patrons in the bar were Dr. Fate and Madame Xanadu. Both were already disabled by the Spectre. Dr. Fate was imprisoned in the dimension within his helmet and Madame Xanadu has been blinded by the Spectre, disabling her abilities to interpret magic.

As Captain Marvel fights a duel of magic versus spirit against the Spectre, Enchantress, Blue Devil, Ragman and Nightmaster keep Eclipso busy, hoping to give Captain Marvel the few moments he needs to defeat the Spectre. To do so, Enchantress syphons magical energy from mystics around the world, empowering Captain Marvel. Meanwhile, Detective Chimp and Nightshade bring back Black Alice, a girl with the power to steal another's magical powers for a short amount of time, leaving the being powerless. The Shadowpact is able to briefly shake off Spectre and Eclipso's attack. With Captain Marvel empowered by Enchantress's spell, and Blue Devil's spear stunning Eclipso, the evil pair retreats to regather its strength.

In the window of time left open, the Shadowpact, joined by Black Alice, return to the Oblivion Bar, to plan the next level of their attack. They will kill the Spectre and defeat Eclipso before he can complete his war on magic by using Black Alice's ability to steal powers. The plan reaches a snag, however, when Black Alice successfully steals the Spectre's powers, only for the heroes to find that a powerless Spectre is an empty spirit and hence unkillable. However, with her brief possession of the Spectre's powers, Black Alice uses them to help Nightshade send Eclipso into a perpetual orbit around the sun, which weakens her power and leaves her trapped.

Captain Marvel, meanwhile, has returned to the Rock of Eternity, where the wizard Shazam reveals that he is ready to face The Spectre. The restored Spectre, Black Alice unable to contain his immense might, travels to the Rock of Eternity to battle the wizard Shazam, changing Captain Marvel back into Billy Batson, his alter-ego, to keep him out of his way. The Phantom Stranger, restored from a mouse, uses his powers to allow the Shadowpact to watch the battle between Shazam and the Spectre from Earth. After it appears that Shazam has beaten his opponent, the Spectre revives himself, drains the wizard of his powers, and kills him. The Rock of Eternity begins to disintegrate, and travels through several dimensions as it does so, eventually appearing in the sky above Gotham City before it explodes into "a billion pieces".

The destruction of the Rock frees an untold number beings of evil magic back into the world, among them the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, who were formerly trapped in stone statues in Shazam's throne room. Billy Batson, unable to remember his magic word, is seen falling from the Rock above Gotham City. The scene leads directly into _Infinite Crisis #1…_

2. The OMAC Project: Blue Beetle is dead, Booster Gold is in the hospital and the Checkmate organization, led by Maxwell Lord and in command of Batman's former spy satellite Brother Eye, continues its mysterious operations against DC's superheroes. Booster Gold wakes up and after learning of Ted Kord's disappearance, he decides to investigate it with the help of Wonder Woman.

OMACs (Observational Meta-human Activity Constructs) have been spotted all over the world and have managed to kill several metahumans. Batman and Wonder Woman investigate the OMACs while Booster, after meeting Guy Gardner in space, decides that he would rather investigate Ted Kord's disappearance with other former members of the Justice League International.

Interwoven through this plot are scenes detailing the power struggle within the Checkmate organization itself. Checkmate is led by the White Queen, White King, Black Queen and Black King; each of whom have Knights (of the corresponding color). Through his machinations, Black King Maxwell Lord becomes the only leader of the organization, despite being double-crossed by one of his own Knights, Sasha Bordeaux. Maxwell Lord then puts another one of his plans into effect…

Interlude: Sacrifice. Maxwell Lord, through the detonation of a 'gene bomb' years earlier, gained the ability to control the minds of others…at great difficulty at the time. However, this power seems to have grown, as Maxwell Lord reveals that he has used the powers to influence and control the mightiest hero of them all, Superman. Using his power, he makes Superman brutally beat up Batman and attack Wonder Woman, believing them to be his old enemies (ie Brainiac, Darkseid, Ruin, and Doomsday). After barely escaping from Superman, Wonder Woman confronts Maxwell Lord and binds him in her Lasso of Truth; telling him to tell her how to free Superman; Maxwell tells her that the only way for Superman to be free of Maxwell's control is that Wonder Woman has to kill him.

And without a second thought Wonder Woman snaps Maxwell Lord's neck…right in front of Superman. She did what she had to…but to Superman, that is not an excuse…

And all she has done is made it worse, as Brother Eye, the artificial intelligence directing the OMAC drones, has seen this event initiates a protocol specifically designed to be used in the event of Lord's death and OMAC drones world-wide are activated and begin to wreak havoc and destruction. In fact, Sasha herself is transformed into an OMAC-like hero, powered by nanite technology. Rocket Red #4, a former member of the Justice League, sacrifices himself in order to destroy several drones and save the lives of his friends.

Batman then works with the remnants of Checkmate to lure the majority of OMACs to the Sahara. There, he activates an EMP device that disables all of the OMAC's, allowing their human personas to be freed. However, the Brother MKI satellite is still hidden and has about 200,000 OMAC's still under its control.

Brother I overrides all television screens around the world and broadcasts Wonder Woman's killing of Maxwell Lord. The people don't understand the circumstances, just that they're watching Wonder Woman murder a recognized Justice League colleague.

In _Wonder Woman_ #221, Wonder Woman took a defeated OMAC to a hospital, and noticing everyone staring at her in fear, saw the broadcast and realized "They have killed my name." It leads into _Infinite Crisis #1…_

3. Villains United: For months now, former President Lex Luthor has been using his resources to assemble an army against the superheroes. Luthor's team now has over two hundred members with a six-member core team consisting of Luthor, Talia al Ghul, Doctor Psycho, Deathstroke the Terminator, Black Adam, and the Calculator. But not all the villains offered a chance to join this army are thrilled with this idea. Batman villain Catman has joined a team of five supported by the mysterious Mockingbird including Cheshire, Deadshot, Scandal, Ragdoll and Parademon to oppose this new Secret Society. Catman replaced the first Fiddler, after he was shot by Deadshot on Mockingbird's orders when Mockingbird felt he had not fulfilled his part in a mission.

Late one night in the mansion of the Secret Six, Catman and Deadshot have a discussion about their unknown leader, Mockingbird and the dramatic change in Catman's life (they found Catman, who until recently was considered a joke, on the African Savannah, where he had reinvented himself as a Batman-like perfect human and was living peacefully…until Deathstroke killed his pride of lions and forced him back into action) while Cheshire secretly listens in the shadows. After a short while Scandal informs everyone that Mockingbird has just assigned them to steal Thanagarian weaponry from a tanker in Gotham harbor. Upon their arrival to the tanker they are ambushed by members of the Society, which include Weather Wizard, Cheetah, Doctor Polaris, Count Vertigo, Killer Frost, Captain Nazi, Hyena, Crazy Quilt, and others. After their capture, the Crime Doctor tortures the Secret Six, asking them the identity of Mockingbird among other questions. After a few rounds of torture, Catman breaks free and rescues his villainous teammates. While escaping they decide to send the Society a message by murdering the Hyena.

After their escape the Six infiltrated a Society installation in Brazil. After fighting their way through the H.I.V.E. troopers defending the mainframe, they discover the Society's plans for the 'Vindication Scenario'—erasing the memories of all of Earth's superheroes in retaliation for the mindwiping the heroes had been doing for years. The facility is a giant battery, powered by a kidnapped Firestorm. They release Firestorm just as Black Adam was arriving with a response team and the facility is destroyed.

Once the Six return to their base Cheshire and Catman are in bed together when Cheshire accuses Catman of being a spy and wanting to be a hero. However, she reveals that she has slept with him in order to conceive a child.

A short time later, most of the Society's founding council votes to mount a final strike on the Secret Six—Lex Luthor disagrees with a preemptive attack, but the remaining four members (Black Adam is absent for unknown reasons) decide the action is necessary. Simultaneously, the Six agree to a last stand, but only under the condition that any survivors be set free from Mockingbird's control with no strings attached.

Previous to the battle between the Society and the Six, Deadshot visits Scandal's room to talk about the team's future. A framed picture on the woman's desk reveals that her father is the immortal Vandal Savage.

Before the conversation has a chance to progress past base greetings, Deadshot is ambushed by an irate Catman; he admits knowledge that Deadshot masqueraded as the villainous Deathstroke and murdered the lions comprising his pride, which caused him to join the Secret Six in the first place. The two engage in a scuffle before pausing to find Deathstroke (the genuine article) leading a rather large band of villains to the front door of the House of Secrets  
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As the motley crew debates as to how the Society was able to find them, Cheshire confesses to several traitorous deeds including giving Luthor the coordinates of the Six's base and covertly joining the Society. When asked what would possess her to do such a thing, considering the fact that the enigmatic Mockingbird has threatened to eliminate her daughter if she refuses utter compliance, Cheshire points out that the baby she's having with Catman would make a fine replacement for a lost child.

The Society storms through the castle, and Cheshire is shot and possibly killed by Deathstroke, who comments that "The Society doesn't need traitors". The Secret Six manages to fight successfully, though. Talia al Ghul and Scandal Savage, daughters of immortals Ra's al Ghul and Vandal Savage respectively, fight each other. Just when Talia has the upper hand, Scandal's mole in the Society, Knockout, knocks out Talia. (It is also revealed that Knockout is Scandal's lover.) Ragdoll convinces Solomon Grundy, a fellow "ugly monster," to switch sides. Ragdoll and his father, who HAS joined the Society, fight until Parademon beats the elder Ragdoll. Catman and Ragdoll Jr. escape from Black Adam's group while Parademon blows himself (and the battleground) up, along with Ragdoll. Deathstroke and Deadshot duel, ultimately shooting each other at the same time. Vandal Savage, to save his daughter Scandal, infiltrates the Society's headquarters and threatens to kill Luthor if he does not disengage the Society's attack against the Six. Luthor reluctantly calls an end to the battle over Black Adam's objection; Deadshot is lead away to medical help from the surviving Secret Six.

The central revelation of the book, however, is that Mockingbird is actually…Lex Luthor, and that the Luthor organizing the Secret Society is some sort of "imposter". Mockingbird/Luthor reveals that he chose those six individuals because each had different knowledge and experience that could be used to oppose the Society: Catman, for his knowledge on Batman villains; Deadshot, for his knowledge on the remaining Suicide Squad members; Parademon, for his experience living on Apokolips; Ragdoll, because he grew up as a "nephew" to the members of the Injustice Society; Scandal, because she grew up with Vandal Savage and his associates; and Cheshire, for her knowledge on the villains of the Teen Titans. Mockingbird/Luthor reveals to Scandal that he had never placed the families and children of the Six in danger, and disbands the team.

And one final event happens, as the Luthor of the Society, the apparent imposter, reveals that he had captured Pariah, the man who has been hardly seen since the original Crisis. Even more alarmingly, he seemingly kills Pariah, which should be impossible as Pariah was supposedly immortal and protected against harm…but he seemingly kills him anyway. And Pariah, as you remember, was always drawn to great danger…as it leads into _Infinite Crisis #1…_

4. The Rann-Thanagar War: Perhaps the least important of the miniseries, but needed to be noted anyway. During a recent adventure, space cop Adam Strange, of the Planet Rann, battles a rogue group of the hawk-winged people of Thanagar. During the battle, the leader of the group transported Strange's adopted homeworld of Rann into the Thanagarian system with hopes of creating a dictatorship. However, Rann's new location caused the orbit of Thanagar to change and the planet crashed into the system's sun. The planet Rann now serves as a haven for the people of the now destroyed Thanagar.

But tensions are rising and Strange knows war will soon erupt. Strange goes to Earth to recruit the help of Thanagarians Hawkman and Hawkgirl to prevent a war that will plunge the whole galaxy into chaos. Meanwhile, Green Lanterns Kilowog and Kyle Rayner are sent on a covert mission to Rann, albeit under orders by the Guardians of the Universe not to interfere.

When Strange and the Hawks arrive on Rann, they are shocked to see that the war has already begun.

In a massive battle between Rann and Thanagar, which also grows to include the survivors of the destroyed Tamaran home world and their leader, Blackfire, Hawkwoman is killed by Komand'r (Blackfire) in betrayal of a pact. With the help of the heros Tigor of the Omega Men and Captain Comet, Onimar Synn, the villain of the series and starter of the war in the first place, is rendered apart into 7 pieces, with each piece being inserted into a separate star.

However, while the war is done, the battle has just begun, as the end of the series brings the assorted forces of Rann and Thanagar to face with a fracture in space that has been discovered during the fight…a fracture that resembles those that were seen during the _Crisis on Infinite Earths…_as it leads into _Infinite Crisis #1…_

1.1 Power Girl: Her origin a tangled mess: originally the Supergirl of Earth-2, then claimed to be the granddaughter of the ancient sorcerer Arion to retcon her existence Post-Crisis, then told years later she was not the granddaughter of Arion after all. Just before Infinite Crisis though, her true origin was finally revealed, as the Psycho-Pirate confronts her attempts to drive her mad, as in the process he ultimately tells Power Girl that she is from the Krypton of Earth-Two, and has somehow retained her pre-Crisis origin as Kara Zor-L, continuing to exist after the Crisis when many other (such as Huntress and Robin of Earth-Two) did not. In the end, it is revealed that the whole purpose of Psycho Pirate's scheme is to weaken Power Girl mentally so that she could be captured as part of Lex Luthor of the Society's as of yet unrevealed plot involving key characters in the Crisis of Infinite Earths. However, Power Girl beats Psycho Pirate into a bloody pile of guts and blood in anger only to discover that thanks to the Medusa Mask, the source of his power, Psycho Pirate can now regenerate his entire body via his own blood (which he does). Psycho Pirate flees and vows to make Power Girl his love slave once Luthor is finished with her…

1.2 JLA: Crisis of Conscience. The revelation of the mindwiping that the JLA has been involved in reaches its zenith, as mistrust between the team members of the Justice League is complicated by the arrival of several villains wanting revenge for the supposed mindwiping that has been done to them, a group ultimately revealed to be lead by the mind controlling alien Despero. While the Justice League ultimately triumphs over its foes, it cannot overcome the feelings of suspicion and paranoia they now feel for each other, and the group disbands. The Martian Manhunter returns to the Watchtower base on the moon…where he proceeds, in a sudden epiphany, to discover the connection between the team dissolution, the rise of the OMACs, the intergalactic war between Rann and Thanagar, the creation of a new Secret Society of Super-Villains and the rampage against magic by the Spectre. But just as he is about to inform the others, a mysterious intruder appears, and as J'onn cries out in shock, the final panel of the comic shows the Watchtower exploding into a massive fireball…

And so, the stage is set. Evil, chaotic magic has been loosed all over the planet. The Earth swarms with deadly killing machines specifically designed to destroy metahumans. Virtually all the villains of the world have been united in a grand plan to destroy the minds of all superheroes. A strange cosmic rift had opened in the Universe, one that grows by the hour. The Justice League is shattered, and Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are all at each other's throats over Wonder Woman's decision to kill Maxwell Lord. And with the viewing of Maxwell's death over the televisions of the world by Brother Eye, fear of superheroes and what they can do has hit a peak perhaps never seen before.

The crisis is here.

X. Infinite Crisis

As of this writing, there have been four issues of Infinite Crisis released. Later issues may confuse or contradict what is written here. All I can say is that the story I wrote here was written based on what had been revealed as of Issue 4 of IC. As before, if you want to read it yourself, these contain massive spoilers. You have been warned.

IC #1: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman investigate the destroyed Watchtower, and while they manage to fend off an attack by the alien villain Mongul, they cannot reconcile their differences…

And a strange group of figures watch…

Donna Troy returns to Earth (prompting a lot of "Aren't you dead?" "I got better."), gathering various heroes for a mission, including the new Supergirl, Starfire, Cyborg, Animal Man, and the new Firestorm, among others. She takes them into space.

Conner Kent, aka Superboy, watches the disasters from the Kent farm via television, but he is still too ashamed and in doubt of himself after the 'Insiders' incident to go and aid the fight…

On Earth, the OMACS continue their slaughter of every metahuman, hero and villain, they can find. Nightwing appears trapped by them…until their protocols are overridden with something called 'Truth and Justice' and they all cease their attack and begin to mass in the air, heading to an unknown place…

The Rann/Thanagar alliance, along with others, attempt to contain the rift in space, but they cannot, it continues to grow…

In Gotham, the shattered remains of the Rock of Eternity rain terrible evil down on the city…

The Freedom Fighters, a group of heroes originally from Earth-X, investigate rumors of the Society in a warehouse outside of Metropolis…and find a mass of powerful supervillains who proceed to kill or seemingly kill most of them, sparing only the Ray, who is captured for some unknown reason…

Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman go their separate ways, though Batman has retrieved video footage from the destroyed Watchtower computer, which he can hopefully clean up to see what happened to J'onn…

And the figures watching decide they can watch no longer. The DC world has thrown away their gift, and now they must get involved. Powerful fists slam against a crystal wall until it shatters…

Revealing Golden Age Superman, Superboy from Earth Prime (henceforce called Superboy-Prime), Alex Luthor Jr, and Lois-Lane Kent. The final remnants of the Crisis on Infinite Earths have returned to save the day.

IC#2: The Society attempts to capture Power Girl, but are defeated by Kal-L (Golden Age Superman), who takes Power Girl to his companions, and her memories of Earth-2 are restored.

The world is under siege from all directions. Superman goes to help, while, unable to capture one of the Marvel Family for some unknown purpose, the Luthor of the Society tells the Society to bring him one of their own, Black Adam. Meanwhile, the REAL Lex Luthor is out somewhere in the Arctic, and for some reason is in pain, unable to think properly…

Batman, while attempting to clean up the video file and see just how attacked J'onn and destroyed the Watchtower, is suddenly contacted by Brother Eye. Batman struggles to try and regain control of his former satellite, but Brother Eye had gained true sentience and will not stop its actions, actions Batman programmed it to do (actions which have been severely corrupted but Brother Eye does not realize that), protect the world…from people like Wonder Woman, as it is revealed a gigantic army of OMACS, under the protocol 'Truth and Justice' have lain siege to Wonder Woman's home island of Themyscria, and Wonder Woman and her countrywoman are fighting for their lives…

Kal-L then declares his plans and intentions to Power Girl: his wife, Lois Lane-Kent, is dying, and the new world created at the end of the original Crisis is falling apart. To save his wife, and everything, Kal-L, and his friends Superboy-Prime and Alex Luthor Jr plan to reverse the action made during the Crisis on Infinite Earths which saved Earth-1, and bring about the return of Earth-2, so Lois can recover from her sickly state and the world can recover from its decadence.

IC #3: Villains lay siege to the world, as the Spectre, still on his magic-destroying quest, proceeds to annihilate the underwater nation of Atlantis. As the OMAC attack on Themyscira intensifies, the Amazons make use of a new weapon, the Purple Ray of Death, while Batman despairs over what he has unleashed in his paranoia and mistrust…before someone announces themselves in his cave.

Wonder Woman orders the Purple Ray of Death shut down when she realizes that Brother Eye is broadcasting the assault across the world in order to discredit her and her nation further. Quickly diverting the OMACs away from the Amazon armies, Wonder Woman orders her sisters to retreat. As they gather on the shoreline of Themyscira, Wonder Woman calls on the goddess Athena, who created the Amazons in the first place back in the times of myth, to send Paradise Island into another dimension, which she does. Wonder Woman however remains behind to battle the OMACs, her home now seemingly forever lost to her.

Power Girl struggles with whether to support the returned heroes on this venture, knowing that Earth-Two must be restored for Lois Lane-Kent to live, but also knowing the great cost that will occur if such a deed is done. The Shadowpact try and step the tide of evil magic unleashed, with aid from Superman. The rift in space grows worse, despite Donna Troy's group's attempts to stop it. The Flash springs into action to aid the world

Kal-L is the one who has visited Batman to enlist his support, stating that the mistrust and hostility Batman has developed — leading him to create the Brother Eye satellite — was due to the inherent "bad" nature of Earth-2 over the happiness of Earth-2.

While Lex Luthor finally confronts the Luthor of the Society, though doing so apparently causes Lex great pain. He nevertheless blasts the Society's Luthor…who shrugs off the blast and returns fire with his own mysterious power.

Upon learning the full genocidal implications of Kal-L's plan, Batman refuses to cooperate to the point where he attempts to attack the Kryptonian with a kryptonite ring, which proved ineffective. Kal-L leaves.

As Lex Luthor's attack on the society's Luthor finally shatters the hologram that the Society's Luthor is wearing, to reveal…

Alexander Luthor Jr.

Lex Luthor is then ambushed from behind, his armor easily ripped to shreds by unknown hands. Before he can be killed though, Lex Luthor escapes with a personal teleporter.

With Kal-L gone, Batman turns back to trying to restore the video file, while Power Girl wrestles with her feelings, finally returning to the place where the survivors of the Crisis have set up shop to announce her choice…

Only to find something she had not seen before: a gigantic machine, in which are plugged the bodies of Breach (A hero from Post Crisis Earth), Lady Quark (The sole survivor of Earth-6 during the original Crisis), The Ray (the son of a hero from Earth-X), Martian Manhunter (A hero from Pre-Crisis Earth 1), Black Adam (A villain from Earth-S), and Nightshade (A hero from Earth-4)…a machine apparently built from the remains of the Anti-Monitor.

But before she can do anything, Power Girl is struck down, by…

As Batman's video file, finally uncorrupted, plays back who attacked J'onn…

Superboy-Prime.

And it's quite apparent that while Kal-L wants to restore Earth-2 to save his wife, Superboy-Prime and Alex Luthor Jr have an agenda all their own…

IC #4: Revealed as the masterminds, Alex Luthor Jr, while inserting Power Girl into their machine, tell Power Girl that when Kal-L had punched his way free of the paradise Alex Luthor Jr had created, it was not the first time that Alex Luthor and Superboy-Prime had visited the DC Universe. They had actually been doing so for quite some time, and they had organized most of the terrible events that have befallen the DC Universe, though they claim Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman's troubles were theirs alone, a sign of how terrible and dark that the DC Universe has become, a darkness they have grown sick of observing while 'trapped' in their paradise. For this darkness, which seems unremoveable and destined to only grow, the DC Universe as they knew it, and the Earth especially, must be destroyed, while is why they organized the new Crisis. Alex Luthor Jr used the villains to build the machine and capture the heroes imprisoned in it under the assumption they would use the machine to mindwipe the heroes, which is not the true case. As well, they arranged the Spectre's attack on magic to revert magic to a purer, more primal form, free of order or chaos, so they could use it to power the machine, while Superboy-Prime, on earlier missions to the DC Universe, manipulated planets and solar objects (and hence sparking off the Rann/Thanagar War) so the center of the universe shifted: originally Oa, the center is now where the rift in space is. With all this in play, they will use Power Girl and the others, via the machine they have build, to not remake Earth-2 (which Alex Luthor claims is 'just a step along the way), but to find a perfect world. With Power Girl (originally from Earth-2, remember) imprisoned, Superboy-Prime begs to visit 'him', while beforehand (before you knew just who it was), he had previously asked Alexander Luthor Jr to go to Earth, saying 'You know what I can do under that Yellow Sun'. When Superboy-Prime says that Alex Luthor TOLD him he could 'talk to him', Alex Luthor gives him the go-ahead, and Superboy-Prime takes off…

In the world, the Society, under Deathstroke's orders, in revenge against something Nightwing has done to him, drops the massive poisonous entity Chemo like a bomb from space and onto Bludhaven, Nightwing's city, reducing it to a toxic wasteland…even while Batman, finally seeing the whole board, attempts to make amends as he begins preparing counter plans.

Kal-L, clueless of the true intentions of his companions, tries to comfort his dying wife…

While on the farm, the Kents get a surprise visitor: Superboy-Prime, who confronts Conner Kent, lambasting him, telling him to admit he's given up and that it's time for a Superboy who knows what right and wrong is, that he's the Superboy the world needs…and when Conner refuses to accept it, Superboy-Prime blasts him with a punch, screaming "YOU'RE NOT SUPERBOY!"

The battle begins, as Superboy-Prime trashes Conner, calling him an imitation, saying that he is the real Superboy and he's what the world needs. But even when Conner snaps and fights back, he gets nowhere. While the veracity of him being the real Superboy is yet undefined, Superboy-Prime is something else: an earlier kind of a hero…a Silver Age Hero.

A hero of a time when powers were so much higher. A time when the Super-People were nigh-omnipotent.

Indeed, it seems as if Superboy-Prime commands strength beyond Conner's and perhaps beyond even Superman himself…and he's clearly not quite right in the head…

And he's still…trashing Conner.

But Conner has something he doesn't…

* * *

And so…it finally comes to an end. I'm sorry if I melted your brain and burned you out.

But that, all in all, utterly explains it.

And now…you know the rest…of the story.


	3. Part 1 Point 5: The Devil In The Details

Part 1.5: The Devil In The Details 

Writer's Note: Remember all my talk in the explanation about retcons and such? Well dear readers, due to certain events, you will now get to witness a retcon first hand! Hopefully I will be able to alter the details so it goes on the wall of fame rather then the blooper reel.

And for readers of the original source material, I apologize if my additions or modifications cause you confusion, but I accidentally called Superboy-Prime stupid and he punched the crystal wall a few extra times and…well, you see the results. Again, my thanks to those who came before me and laid the ground I am hopefully not about to desecrate.

* * *

_Mystery._

_In our lives, it is as an essential part as breathing. When there's none of it, the more alert wonder why, rather then enjoy the clarity. In a way, it is more important then any codename or defining battle is for who, and what, we are._

_As a superhero, mystery is forever intertwined with you. The first of our breed were not called superheroes or metahumans, but mystery men (also masked men, but you know what I mean). Their act of wearing a disguise, of hiding who they were, having a secret identity, of casting a shadow across a mirror…it was set in stone long before Superman began leaping tall buildings in a single bound._

_And in a way, mystery is part of the appeal of the life. What's going to happen next? Will our next foe be a superhuman assassin or a wacky witch who came from a pie? Will a midget with immense reality altering powers show up to make our lives interesting, or will it simply be a sociopathic punk with a machine gun and a chip on his shoulder? The future is murky for all, but for a hero, part of that murkiness could almost be seen as a thrill. There's never a dull moment._

_But…mystery is not a catch-all and end-all. You don't always see it as a whole. Sometimes you just see aspects of it. And not all of them are good._

_And perhaps the worst is mystery's bastard child, confusion._

_Nothing good comes of confusion. While mystery, the unknown, can be looked upon with awe or anticipation, nothing but trouble can come from the unknown of confusion. Confusion blots your mind, scrambles your senses, and slows thought. It can cost you time. It can cost you dearly. It can cost you everything._

_In times of peace, even during 'typical' superhero events like battling villains, mystery is generally thought to be the stronger force. But in times of crisis…confusion reigns._

_If you need yet more reason why confusion is always bad, look at war. War is mass confusion, an atmosphere where it breeds faster then anywhere. Casualties in war often have less to do with lack of skill or bravery then the battlefield itself. You can train all you want, be good at it, even seem gifted at it…but those are all skills learned under a mantle of sense. In war, sense can vanish within seconds. Explosions can produce smoke and dust that quickly reduce your field of vision to near nothing. You become surrounded by terrible noise. And the one thing movies had yet to replicate is the horrific smell that comes from war, the stench of death and destruction. In such an environment, sense can vanish on the wind. You can suddenly have no idea which way the enemy is, where the shots are coming from, if the man next to you is your buddy or someone preparing to stick a knife in your ribs. In that confusion comes fear. And in that fear can come tragedy. There's a reason we need the term 'friendly fire'. And 'fog of war'._

_Outside of being used as a weapon against an enemy, nothing good comes from confusion. And it's not an easy weapon to wield, at that._

_And even the best of us are prone to it._

_My name is Noel Collins, my codename is Savior, and I am a member of the Teen Titans. And the world has gone to hell._

_And due to my part, I think I may know why.

* * *

_

The actions of the Flashes, the wielders of the extradimensional energy known as the Speed Force, had ensured that the battlefield was strewn simply with wreckage, not bodies of innocents who could not defend themselves. A good thing, considering the power of the foe they had battled, a foe so mighty that none of the heroes assembled could stand against him, even harm him, for all their efforts. In the end, The Flashes had done the only thing they could: grabbed Superboy-Prime and ran off with him, disappearing into the Speed Force. An act that, according to Jay Garrick, had either destroyed or sealed the energy field away: it was gone, leaving Garrick powerless. Of all the Flashes, as well as Elijah Versaw, he had been the only one not to go all the way, and hence the only one to return, as far as Noel could tell. It appeared the speedsters had made the ultimate sacrifice to stop Superboy-Prime, before he could destroy more of Keystone City.

_Keystone City? Wait wait, I thought the battle took place in Smallville!_

_The answer is, you're right. And you're wrong. As was I. I thought the battle took place completely in Smallville too. Things were so chaotic, I never noticed us making the transfer._

_Do you think I have no reason to speak of the dangers of confusion? Believe me, this is just the beginning. When you don't notice you're switching cities, things are really bad._

_I suppose it's not entirely implausible. Smallville and Keystone are both in Kansas. Are they right next to each other? I'm not sure. But I do know we had three master Speed Force users in Jay Garrick, Wally West, and Bart Allen. In the chaos of battle, they could have tried moving both Superboy-Prime and us…but why Keystone? You would think an empty field would be better._

_Or maybe Keystone and Smallville really are closer then I realized. I don't know. All I know is that while the battle started in Smallville and destroyed parts of Smallville, by the time Pantha was tragically murdered we were in Keystone. It ended there. And then it disappeared, taking several of our companions with us._

_Even as another Earth appeared in the sky.

* * *

_

Baby steps. In times like these, sometimes that was the only way to function. One small thing at a time.

Noel's small thing at the moment was trying to find Raven, to see how she was doing in her healing efforts…and trying to ignore the carnage around him.

He passed by Gauntlet and Paragon, as Amy bawled over the bodies of John Arcwrite and Wendy Ranberg, aka Evil John and Crazed-Buzz, and Gauntlet, despite the clear pain on his own face, tried to comfort her. Looking at the sight briefly, he was amazed Gauntlet was holding up so well, considering his artifact was a shattered wreck and perhaps broken beyond repair, not to mention he had never thought Gauntlet had the strength of mind to stand up to such tragedy. A weakness that mostly existed in Savior's prejudices, he always knew, though he concealed it from himself.

Noel pondered the nature of glibness and how in certain aspects he was far too weak. For all their disagreements, Rob was a hero, and he'd proven it.

And sadly, Noel thought, if they lived through this and put it behind them, soon Noel would forget that and become annoyed with Rob all over again. It was probably inevitable. He was only human.

And it was being that way, Noel knew, that had set this all off, as he walked on.

He passed by Red Star, who as it turned out survived being frozen by Superboy-Prime…though perhaps that was little comfort to him now: he had been, Noel had heard, good friends with Pantha and Wildebeest, both dead at Superboy-Prime's hands. In typical Russian stoicalness, he was trying not to show his grief…and not succeeding.

Noel walked on, feeling powerless and hating himself for it.

Next up came the Titans East, who were tending to Bumblebee, who had suffered a leg wound of some kind. Speedy was doing the bandaging…while Speedy looked on.

And no, that was not a typo.

_Confusion._

_It was noted that Speedy was at the battle, with the Titans East. That was true. The thing is…Speedy was also there on HER own. I just didn't notice HER._

_Now you're confused. Allow me to explain._

_Once, a man named Oliver Queen became a vigilante hero named Green Arrow, and he adopted a boy named Roy Harper as his ward and sidekick, Speedy (named for how quick he was with a bow and arrow). Both had their share of bumps on their respective roads, but in the end Speedy grew up and away from Queen. He changed his name to Arsenal, and went to forge his own path. And for a while, Green Arrow was alone._

_Meanwhile, in Star City, Queen's home town, a teenager named Nathaniel Parsons was swiftly showing himself to be an athletic prodigy…and growing an ego to match. He thought the world of himself…until he was about 14._

_I'm not privy to the exact circumstances, but somehow Queen and Parsons crossed paths while Queen was in costume, and Queen for some reason completely tore a strip off Parsons. Queen and I may not see eye to eye ideologically, but I can think of a few reasons that Queen did that. Really humiliated him too, from the scraps I've picked up. So what does Parsons do? Change his life? So to speak. He abandons his athletic dreams and turns his focus to learning archery and combat. And he picked it up quicker then anyone realized._

_His plan was a bit marred by his family moving away from Star City before Parsons could finish, but he made the best of it. Parsons silenced his critics by beating them, and Nathaniel decided to beat Queen at his own game, as despite having left Queen's back yard, he fashioned himself a very familiar costume…and dubbed himself Speedy. And on he went on his hero path, not so much to do good as to rub it in Oliver's face._

_Queen was, to say the least, not pleased. But what could he do, sue Parsons?_

_So Parsons kept on being Speedy, and since he came first, I suppose we could call him Speedy II. Thing is, he's not an OFFICIAL Speedy. Green Arrow never trained him and gave him a 'stamp of approval'._

_Because eventually he did find another ward to train as an archer, a former prostitute named Mia Dearden. And recently, she's hit the 'scene', as it were, as Speedy…an OFFICIAL Speedy. But since she came after Nathaniel, she could be said to be Speedy III. Though in official terms, she's Speedy II, since Nathaniel shouldn't, according to Green Arrow, be Speedy in the first place._

_You see what I mean on how dangerous confusion is? Suck it up, because we're not done yet. For the sake of convenience, I will call them by chronological order rather then any 'official' order, so Nathaniel is Speedy II and Mia is Speedy III._

_Oh, and one final note. This is actually something Nathaniel doesn't know himself, but I do…because unlike a lot of teen heroes, I make it a point to find out these things._

_Some people wonder why Nathaniel was able to pick up archery mastery so easily. Well, genes might have something to do with it._

_As it turns out, he's the great grandson of an obscure Wild West hero named Roger Parsons…who was known as the Golden Arrow._

_Maybe he's more worthy of being Speedy then Ollie gives him credit for…_

"Well, look who survived. Why am I not surprised?" Bumblebee said.

"From your tone, I gather that none of you were badly hurt."

"So to speak." Aqualad said, glancing at May Y Menos, standing sadly off to the side, not saying a word. Of course: with the Speed Force gone, their power was gone as well. All the wounds of this battle weren't physical.

"Hey, guys." Said a dove as Beast Boy popped down next to the group. "Savior. Everything all right here?"

"In some matters." Savior said.

"Hey, wait a minute. Why are you asking him? She's the one on the ground." Speedy III said.

"Oh…force of habit. Nothing personal Karen."

"None taken. I'm just glad that bastard is gone. He just wouldn't go down." Bumblebee said.

"Yeah…I'm sorry you wasted your blue arrow Mia." Beast Boy said.

"…Blue arrow?" Savior said, raising a brow. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy.

"Dude, didn't you see it? How could you MISS it?" Beast Boy said.

"Gar, let's not forget there were dozens of us all running and blasting and flying and it was extremely fast and so chaotic we somehow moved from Smallville to Keystone without me noticing…even I can't see everything."

"Oh…well it happened just as we showed up…"

* * *

_**"GET OFF!"**_

_The power that had erupted from Superboy-Prime's eyes had scattered the heroes, but they had quickly regrouped even amongst the chaos, and pressed their attack, even as the battleground shifted from Smallville to Keystone…_

_Punches, superfast and superhuman. Bludgeons, both metal and granite. A sword (which broke) and lasers. Then, more punching._

_The reaction?_

"_That doesn't hurt." Superboy-Prime said as he hurled a bus at his attackers, scattering them._

"_Argh! How are we supposed to stop him?" Aqualad cursed._

"_Time for the blue arrow." Speedy III replied, as she drew said blue arrow and cocked it, even as Beast Boy landed near her, this time as a robin._

"_The blue arrow?" He asked._

"_I got it from Arsenal for an **emergency**. He, well, stole it."_

"_He stole it? From who?" Beast Boy asked, even as STRIPE took another crack at the mad Superboy-Prime._

"_No time!"_

"_Ok, so what is it?" Beast Boy asked, as Superboy-Prime battered Stripe away._

"_He called it…" Speedy III said as she drew back the bow. "The Phantom Zone Arrow."_

_Which flew true._

"_ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Superboy-Prime screamed, as the arrow struck him and grayish energy erupted from it, bathing the nearby heroes in dull light…and then the teen was gone. What remained was what looked like a floating, spinning pane of glass, Superboy-Prime's face reflected in it like a mirror, as he looked out onto the heroes in confusion, his hands pressed up against the 'glass'._

"_Where…" He said, as Gar realized. He'd heard about it from message boards._

"_You're in the Phantom Zone, freak." He snapped, his voice devoid of his usual good humor._

"_This is for **criminals!**_ _I'm a…I'm a **good guy!**" Superboy-Prime yelled, as his features twisted into fury once more. "I'm the **only** real good guy here!"_

_And he struck the mirror, a blow so strong that the heroes back on the planet Earth could feel it…as a spiderweb of cracks shot across the gray glass, even as everyone goggled at it. This was impossible! The Phantom Zone was inescapable! It had held the worst threats that ever existed! He couldn't, not even HE WAS STRONG ENOUGH…!_

"**_I'M SUPERBOY!"_**

_The panel shattered into thousands of pieces, as a terrible shockwave of power staggered the gathered heroes outside of it…some in more then one way, even as Superboy-Prime made his grand return to Earth, and if possible he was even less happy then before._

_Lacking any other option, the heroes again rushed to attack. But this time Superboy-Prime was ready to defend himself better, and he could do it very well…

* * *

_

"…He punched his way…out of the Phantom Zone?" Savior said, his eyes filled with horror. Just how strong had he been? Could such power be…

But he should know. He had a first hand look, even though he hadn't had time to sift through it all.

"Hey man, I was just as surprised as you…but something happened Savior. Something that sheds light on our little information problem." Beast Boy said.

"It does?"

"What information problem?" Speedy II asked.

"Tell you later. Gar, we can't stand around talking. We're trade notes later, and…oh for…" Savior cursed as he ran off. He'd seen something.

* * *

_You're probably wondering what information problem we're talking about. Well, let's just say that during this crisis, it didn't seem all that important to bring up._

_Confusion is worst when you can't see it coming. And something like that happened to us recently._

_It started simply: Gar wanted to visit the Doom Patrol, so he started looking into the channels to see where they were…and he got more then he bargained for, as people in the 'pipeline' were calling the Doom Patrol the 'new hero team' on the block._

_NEW hero team? They've been around for years! And these are people who KNOW these things, not normal people who only know the big name heroes like Superman or dare I say it, the Teen Titans!_

_More disturbing, they had no mention of a Beast Boy ever being part of their ranks._

_Oh, it got worse. Beast Boy was so confused that he called Robin. Robin decided to check their records…and found that the team we met, well…it didn't match. Instead of Robotman, Negative Man, Elastigirl, and Mento, the team I remember meeting, the last incarnation of the Doom Patrol seemingly consisted of Robotman and three members we'd never heard of called Kid Slick, Fever, and Freak. And on top of that, it listed Elastigirl as being dead._

_Of course, records can be garbled or altered…except this strangeness got the REST of us involved, and well…Rob said the Doom Patrol no longer had Mento, it had two new members named Grunt and Nudge, and for some reason he was mad at someone named John Byrne. And Raven said that last she heard of the Doom Patrol it had been handling threats on the far edge of surreal and had members like The Quiz, whose power was she had every power NO ONE has ever heard of, and Danny the Street, which was…a living street. And Robin started talking about someone named Niles Caulder who had lead the Doom Patrol…except Beast Boy, a former member, had no idea who he was._

_Confused? Oh yeah, we were. Beast Boy finally went off to find the Doom Patrol…he apparently succeeded, though I only realize that because he showed up with them when we were gathering our forces against Superboy-Prime._

_I didn't find out until later that the version he found was apparently Rob's version…and they didn't remember him. At first._

_Then Superboy-Prime punched his way out of the Phantom Zone, and according to Gar, well, he had the mother of all flashbacks. It seemed that ALL our versions were correct._

_So why the wildly varying knowledge?_

_I have yet to explain that to him…but I will. I got the information by accident, but it needs to be told._

_But for the moment someone else has to be told something…

* * *

_

"NIGEL!" Noel snapped, as he ran up to the alien, who was limping along, holding his wounded area. "For once would you STAY DOWN?"

"Sophie…" Nigel whispered.

"I know. She's missing, and you're worried. And I also know you won't do her any good if you walk around with a wound like that!"

"I'll manage…I have before…Raven did what she could…and…I refuse to stay down when I could be helping others…so just go lecture someone else Noel, I don't have time for it!" Nigel growled, as he staggered along.

"Nigel…"

"I'LL BE FINE!"

"…Ok, ok." Noel said, and ran on, not wanting to fight with Nigel over it. He'd keep an eye on him while he tried to find Raven.

Which he finally did, as she was apparently trying to help one of the other wounded superheroes, Risk, who had been 'lucky' to only be maimed by Superboy-Prime. Risk had superhuman strength, but it was clear that Superboy-Prime's superhuman strength surpassed all the strengths in the group, maybe even put together, and the psychotic 'hero' had mutilated the teen, ripping his right arm off at the shoulder. At the moment, Argent was using her energy plasma powers to try and keep Risk's wound from bleeding out, the boy literally in tears from the pain, as Hotspot and the Joker's Daughter looked on. Raven was trying to fix the wound.

Operative word being trying.

"…Ugghhh…" Raven said, as she lowered her arms and appeared to lose her balance. "I'm sorry…"

"Raven!" Savior said, as he ran over, though Raven straightened herself before he got there. "Are you all right? What's going on?"

"She can't fix him! She apparently used up all her ommphhh on her 'official' friends!" Argent snapped.

"No…no…not that…" Raven said. "Magic…in flux…affecting powers…"

"What? But Raven, you fixed my arms…"

"I did…but…I'm sorry. I'm trying…but the state of magic has been damaged…it must be the Spectre's rampage…UUGGGHHHHH!" Raven gasped, collapsing to the ground holding her head.

"Raven!"

"I'm ok…just…Noel, my powers are becoming unreliable. I helped you, Nigel, a few others…but when I came over here my powers just wouldn't work…"

"I thought they were your birthright."

"They were…but they weren't as strong as they are now, I'd been improving them through my life…with magical rituals…and it's coming back to me now. During the battle I felt fine…then afterwards I felt drained…and then while helping Nigel I felt fine again, even a bit euphoric…and now my powers aren't working at all. They might come back in a few minutes…or several hours…or not at all."

"Damn." Savior said, as he stood up, looking at the cross non-official Titans. "Ok, ok, hang on…ok. I have an idea, but first I need to ask, did any of you retrieve the arm?"

"You joking?" Joker's Daughter said, as she waved her arm, indicating the mass destruction. Even if they found the limb, the odds of it being re-attachable weren't good.

"Right, probably for the best…" Savior said, as the Shimmer emerged from his hands. "Ok Hotspot, I'm going to need your help here…"

"What are…you going to…" Risk asked/whimpered through clenched teeth.

"Tie off the veins…and then close the wound. Via cauterization." Savior said, as he sent a myriad of strands out. "But don't worry, I'll take your pain for you."

Risk still yelled a few times, but when it was done he was better off then before, being maimed aside, as Noel returned to Raven's side.

"Feeling any better?"

"I couldn't feel his pain. My empathy abilities…it's like they've gone numb." Raven said.

"Right, well we'll worry about that later. We should…"

"Savior!" Savior's communicator squawked: how it had kept from being smashed Savior didn't know.

"Yeah?" Savior said, answering.

"Is Raven with you?"

"Yes…"

"Get her here right now!"

"Robin wait…"

"NOW!"

"Robin won't take no for an answer. Come on." Savior said, as he headed off with Raven, whose step was once again steady, even if her powers seemed to be reduced to the point of non-existence.

And Noel realized with irritation he'd lost Nigel. And come to think of it, where was that girl he had joined with to try and take Superboy-Prime down…

* * *

The Flashes' delayed entrance as a united front had come from them wanting to get Keystone City clear of innocents, and hence the streets were deserted for miles…except for one lone soul. 

Elijah Versaw walked along, with no destination planned and no idea when he would get one. The world as he knew it was ended. The Speed Force was gone, and hence was his power and abilities. And the Flashes had wondered why he didn't do good deeds: he'd worked himself right out of a job, so to speak. And since it wasn't 'his time and place', he hadn't vanished like Kid and The Flash had, but instead found himself back in Keystone, depowered, alone, and normal.

Maybe once he would have cried. But he'd spent too long hardening his heart against emotion for it now. And so he walked.

Maybe he'd been too used to seeing things 'in the fast lane', but he never noticed the glaive until it came whirling down before him, impaling in the concrete at his feet. Elijah stopped, blinked, and then looked past it at the figure standing down the street, ragged cape flapping in the wind.

Despite it all, Elijah bitterly chuckled.

"Still have one of those? I thought you broke them all in your futile quest to get yourself killed against that monster." Elijah said.

"Futile is a relative word in your tongue."

"Seems pretty accurate here. All you heroes…what did you accomplish? In the end, I had to do your job for you. Again."

"And of course you survived where others did not. What deal with the gods have you made to constantly spare your pitiful life?"

"That's just the thing, isn't it?" Elijah said. "You limit yourself, endlessly letting harm and tragedy come to you in the name of some greater good…while I long ago realized the wretched hypocrisy of such nonsense and cast it off entirely. And for all your supposed nobility, you resent me for it. Why else would you be here? Isn't there a world to save?"

"I suppose, if you put it that way, I am the same as you. Hiding sickening ideas under layers of explanation. But as with yours, perhaps this is needed."

"No, what you need is to get a clue." Elijah snapped back. "I'm nothing like you! You're a fool, the same kind who refused to get out of my way! I never harmed you out of any malice, alien. I harmed you because you got in the way of what had to be done, and you refused to stay out of it. Just like now. Let it go, alien. I will never share your suicidal desire you dress up as heroism. You can't even wear it properly yourself, otherwise you wouldn't be here. So go back to your path to hell or just kill me as I'm sure you wish to, because unlike you, I know the world, and while my place in it may be forever lost to me, my opinions are the same as the ones that made me put you down."

The stone must have already been in Nigel's hand, because in one smooth motion he'd tossed it into Elijah's forehead, causing the mass murderer to stumble back and nearly fall down, clutching his head, not used to being struck. By the time he recovered, Nigel had cross the street and was in front of him. A punch from Nigel, claws carefully turned away, knocked Elijah to the ground, where Nigel reached down and seized him by the front of his costume, lifting him up with one arm, hiding the wince of pain that the motion caused.

"Heh…heh." Elijah chuckled, much to Nigel's surprise, as a trickle of blood from his forehead ran down his face. "My head should be off its shoulders. You can't even get killing me right."

Nigel settled for tossing Elijah roughly to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

"Listen to me and listen good human. I do not care for you. I do not care for the humans that hide their own needs as the needs of the masses. I do not care that you feel I am wrong and you are right. I don't care about you, period!" Nigel snapped. "The hate I feel at these times is directed at all humans! Believe me, I am close to being completely done with them!"

"It took you this long?" Elijah wheezed.

Nigel (very lightly, for him) stomped on Elijah's chest, knocking the air from Elijah's lungs again.

"Let me finish." He growled. "You act like I am an idiot for trying, for staying. I stay because I need to, though I admit, there is precious little I can do. But I stay nonetheless. Because I believe you humans are better then my own race. I have to try and believe that." Nigel said. "I want to think that somewhere in there is a spark of good, the one that wanted to make a better world for his mother and himself…the spark that was led so tragically aside."

"You forget, hero. YOU write the tragedies. My breed writes history."

Nigel bore down harder, just above the rib cracking threshold, cutting Elijah off again.

"You want to know what I think, instead of your second guessing or inserting of words in my mouth, Versaw? I was wrong. There isn't a shred of good in you. And that makes you as worthless as the rest. Nothing but sick desires to delude you into a sense of righteousness. You call me nothing, well, I call you a hypocrite. We gave our all for this world, and lost friends because of it, while you just walk around like you own it. But not any more. The Speed Force is gone. You are as worthless as the rest of the 'people' you supposedly rose against. That is YOUR flaw. Empowered, I would kill you, you are far too great a threat otherwise…but you're just a member of the ignorant masses again. Why should I ever bother to pay you any attention, even if you're squirming under my heel…"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

The punch was inexperienced, which probably saved Nigel from more pain, but it still knocked him right down the street, though he managed to flip and land properly to avoid aggravating his injury.

"You." Nigel said, as Empyrean knelt down next to Elijah, glaring at the alien.

"Her." Elijah replied, and chuckled again. "In the end alien, you just have the words and the power. I have the words, the power…in one form or another…and the intelligence to know how to use it properly. When it all comes down, I may die…but it'll be after you, and it'll be better. But I don't think I will die. That's reserved for your kind."

If Nigel had been fresher, if the situation had been different, he might have tried to find out what kind of hold Elijah had over the superpowered Empyrean, but now…it wasn't worth it. Besides, he probably already knew the answer: Elijah knew all too well how to manipulate weak minds.

"The power?" Nigel snorted disdainfully. "I think not. Because now you need her more then she needs you."

And with a flap of cape, Nigel was gone.

"Elijah, are you all right?" Empyrean asked, her eyes filled with the worry that only an adoring mind could produce. An adoring mind Elijah continually found mystifying.

"Why did you come back?"

"I was afraid…without you…" Empyrean said. "How can I live without you?"

"I'm sure…you'd manage…" Elijah said, as he got up. "But for now…maybe we should find some other place to be."

"Of course Elijah. I'll follow you anywhere."

Yeah, he definitely didn't have to worry about Nigel's words.

…Maybe.

* * *

"What's going on?" Savior asked, as he and Raven located Robin, who was kneeling next to Superboy…and holding a portable oxygen mask, while Dr. Mid-Nite gave the Teen of Steel CPR, his 'girlfriend' (Noel was a bit uncertain about their exact relationship) Wonder Girl looking on in great worry. 

"I don't know! The battle…it's hurt him somehow! Inside! Raven, we…" Robin said.

"I can't…" Raven said. "My powers…they're not working properly."

"WHAT? NOW?" Robin snapped, while Wonder Girl looked sick.

"Yeah, we seem to be getting a rash of thrice-damned timing issues." Savior said as he tried to help Dr. Mid-Nite with the CPR.

"This is the SECOND time…he went down…I managed to bring him back before, but when I did he got up and attacked that blasted other Superboy again…and well, the results speak for themselves!" Dr. Mid-Nite said through clenched teeth, as he furiously worked on Superboy, Savior trying to help, both by normal CPR and, when that didn't prove effective, by 'inward' CPR aka sticking the Shimmer down Superboy's throat and massaging his heart that way.

It seemed to help as Dr. Mid-Nite reported a pulse, albeit a very weak one.

"What's happening to him?" Wonder Girl asked.

"I don't know…" Dr. Mid-Nite said. "He's not just a clone, he's a hybrid one at that. Who knows what medical problems such beings could exclusively develop?"

"Wonder Girl, you might want to keep your lasso handy. We may need to improvise with it's shock abili…" Savior began

"It won't help you." Wonder Girl said. "Themyscria…it's gone, taken away…and the Olympian Gods have fled this plane of reality as well. My powers, like Raven's…they're failing. I barely managed to muster that offensive spurt against the imposter."

"…Oh great." Savior said sarcastically. "Her powers, your powers, this is a cluster study I could do without!"

Superboy groaned lightly. Wonder Girl knelt by his side and took his hand, whispering soothing words.

"I think, and this is purely speculation, that he may have pushed himself too far in this battle. His body can't absorb sunlight as fast as Superman due to his hybrid nature, and he needs more then he can absorb…so his body is turning on itself. Eating itself for energy."

"So in other words, it's trying to save him by killing him. Go figure." Savior said, as he noticed the heroes were beginning to gather together, some supporting wounded.

"…Wait." Robin said. "I just had an idea."

"In regards to what problem?" Savior asked.

"Superboy…due to his…nature…" Robin said, making vague gestures. Savior stared. "You know, he had TWO donors…and…you know what one did!"

"…Oh! Right! You think because of that…revelation…that a certain…"

"Look if you want to talk freely I can stand over there." Dr. Mid-Nite said. "If you have an idea great, but whatever you're going to do, you better do it fast!"

And so the physician moved away.

"You think Luthor has some trick up his sleeve?" Savior asked.

"He supposedly bred Conner as a weapon against us, it didn't work, but he'd have backup plans if it did and something else happened to him…and I happen to know somewhere which might just have this hypothetical aid."

"Well, you're Robin Tim, I'm sure your hypothesis is firmer then most, but there's more to this then Superboy. When I tried to take the other Superboy down, I linked up to his mind…I accidentally 'downloaded' it."

"What?"

"I have his memories. They're scrambled, but I can fix that…Tim, I have a LOT of vital info in my head now. And no offense, but I can't stop and explain. I have to get it to…"

"Guys." Said a new voice, and Robin and Savior looked up to Mr. Terrific, who looked grim. Well, more grim then before. "I hate to interrupt this conversation, but I just got a report. A bad one."

"About what?" Robin asked.

"…Bludhaven."

* * *

_And here I was thinking that several fellow heroes dead, others vanished while trying to deal with a godlike, insane teenager, the Speed Force gone, another Earth in the sky, which was swiftly followed by the disappearance of nearly a quarter of our little group, and Raven's powers fluctuating and possibly disappearing was as bad as you could get. Oh yes, and the fact that whatever is happening is so bad that GODS have fled before it, that's a nice little tidbit from Wonder Girl._

_And now, Bludhaven._

_The Society has crossed the line. This has officially become a war. You can't drop an entity like Chemo on a city and expect anything else._

_So many things to do…but I'll do my part._

_But part of that has to be giving my information to the proper sources…

* * *

_

"All right." Robin said to the assembled teen heroes, as they were the only ones he could legitimately give orders to. "Here's what we're going to do. Argent and Terra will escort the wounded to the closest hospitals. Scalpel, Viridian, I need for you to get Superboy back to Titans Tower, as fast as possible. Scalpel, don't protest, we need your medical skills! Mia, Cassie, Gar, I need you to come with me. The rest of you, Savior's in charge! Get to Bludhaven! They need help, yesterday!"

"Robin, I really…" Savior said.

"Save it Savior. I'm sorry, but we have to move. No matter what happens, I'll join you guys in Bludhaven. Then we can talk. But not now!" Robin said, as he took out and shot off his grappling hook, swinging off into the distance.

"Damn." Savior said. He hoped Robin had planned right, because later may be too late, as he turned to the group. "Ok look, I know my rep isn't good with you guys, but that doesn't matter! My authority is purely minimal! We just have to get to Bludhaven! Now! Let's go!" Savior said, as he looked at Raven. "How are you?"

"I feel fine. But you'll have to carry me for now."

"Done…whoa. Rob. Are you sure you're good to go like that?" Savior asked, pointing to the shattered Gauntlet, the armor blasted off to expose the inner workings.

"It might not be pretty any more, but it still works. You're not keeping me away from Bludhaven, Noel. John and Wendy…"

"I know. Oh, and Rob?"

"Yeah?"

"You were right."

"About what?'

"About a lot of things I never would have believed. We can talk later. Let's go!" Savior said, as the teens made haste to a city that dearly needed them.

* * *

_When I linked with Superboy-Prime, I accidentally read his mind. Learned his motivations. Found out the majority of the plan that has brought us to this point._

_And unlike him, I have an outsider's perspective. I can look at the memories and what he saw, and realize just how he was manipulated into what he did. It does not excuse the deeds, but at least I know the man behind the curtain._

_Alexander Luthor Jr._

_Before my time, there was a Crisis, like now…a Crisis in which more happened then even the smartest of us realized. And one of the key players was Alexander Luthor Jr, the last survivor of a long gone world, who proved himself to be a great hero in the face of the greatest threat the world I know ever faced. For that, he and a few others were seemingly rewarded with paradise._

_As it turned out, it was anything but._

_Human beings are not by their nature selfless creatures. Heroes, by their nature, go against that grain. And if you test that abnormality, if it were, too much, even the best of us can crack._

_Especially in the paradise Alex Luthor made. Time gathered like a nexus, creating a limbo where no time passed. Instead, it gathered, to be watched, over and over again. So to speak. It's hard to watch what never happened. Especially when what IS happening seems so terrible._

_The futures Alex and Superboy-Prime never had. The tragedies of our last decade, so concentrated in number. For Superboy-Prime, only the memories of his past remained as a soother, mixed in with the terrible memory of the end of the family and his world. For Alex Luthor, not even memories remained: only his birth, rapid growth, and destiny in the Crisis._

_I suppose in a way, I can't blame them. Exposed to the same set of circumstances, I might have done the same._

_But it doesn't change the fact that they're wrong._

_Maybe our world is dark. But Alexander Luthor's dream of a perfect world is false. A perfect world cannot exist. It is simply not in our nature. In his quest to get one, Alexander may destroy everything I know, to find he has created nothing but oblivion in the end._

_And Superboy-Prime…terrible. A child with the powers of a god, without the intellectual or emotional maturity to understand the circumstances of his survival…and clearly manipulated by Alex Luthor as well. Both warped, in different ways. Both equally dangerous._

_But it was the hands of Superboy-Prime that started it all, as his rage finally unleashed itself in the paradise…and in the release of his power, he unknowingly aggravated the problem._

_I saw just how great his might was…but with his memories, I realize it was more then even I could think of in my worst nightmares. Blows so strong, that when they struck against the crystal wall that showed them our past, our time, our future…he somehow ALTERED it._

_Somehow, by venting his anger in that nexus of time, Superboy-Prime caused time and reality to flux and shift around us, creating paradoxes and errors. They are surely the cause of our clashing information on the Doom Patrol, as well as god knows how many other changes, alterations, and reversals that only some of us noticed. It's also why Gar had that flashback when he was standing near Superboy-Prime when he punched his way free of the Phantom Zone: a similar effect happened to him, except instead of altering his memories it barraged him with all of them._

_He could alter time and space with blows…_

_He may be why I exist._

_Or why my mother died._

_Or…_

_They thought our world was too dark. I have to wonder how much the darkness was increased with Superboy-Prime's misplaced fury._

_Superboy-Prime is gone now. I hope and pray he's gone._

_But Alex Luthor remains, and his plans are coming to fruition. And I shudder to think of what I know from Superboy-Prime's memories…and what I don't know that Alex Luthor surely kept from him._

_When I can, I will pass this information to those who can use it most. And if I can, I will play a role in reversing all Alexander has put into motion, for his mad dream of a perfect Earth._

_Superboy-Prime said we were false heroes, and believed us unworthy of the life we chose, because we were not saints like him. His youth kept him from understanding that he was not a saint, nor were we all sinners. His situation damned him._

_But Alex Luthor…while blind in his own ways, he understood better. He was a hero. He saved us all._

_And now he seeks to destroy us all._

_So many shifting attitudes, so many pools of knowledge…it's just so confusing, isn't it?_

_Maybe so._

_But I know what I think._

_I will stop him, in any way I can. Even if my role is as minor as Alex's compassion for us._

_He believes us to be little more the devils. We are not devils. We are merely human._

_You have forgotten that, Alexander Luthor. In us, and yourself._

_You have become the devil in all these details._

_And believe you me, for what you did, there will be hell to pay._

_Next: War of the Worlds!_


	4. Part 2: When Worlds Collide

Part 2: When Worlds Collide

Writer's Note: I blame any errors, screwups, people in the wrong or different places, all on Superboy-Prime. He made it so punching a wall excuses mistakes, now I'm gonna milk it for all its worth.

* * *

_Time._

_It's money. It heals all wounds. It flies when you're having fun. Only it tells. You can cherish it. Waste it. Kill it. It tells you when to play ball, to call it a day, a night, and when to pay the piper. You have plenty of it. You don't have enough of it._

_It's fluid._

_That's not an expression mixed in with all the previous ones…usually. In this case though, it's horribly true._

_And it may be the only thing that can save us._

**_"…again express my consummate onus with this preposterous and ostensible theorem that you are utilizing due to the Brobdingnagian amount of discombobulating events and imbroglio we have just suffered…"_**

"**_Birdbrain, stop talking and keep calculating."_**

"**_But, but…"_**

"**_I know you're scared. You don't have to hide it. Both at what's happened and what we're doing. You don't have to be. What we're doing…all the things that have happened…this is the only way. We can't just sit around and wait. Not after what happened last time."_**

"**_Sigh. It is therefore an insurmountable task to talk you out of this cockamamie daftness you call a plan?"_**

"**_You have a better one, Birdie?"_**

"…**_Very well, I shall continue. But I must insist you stop calling me by avian pseudonyms."_**

"…**_I agree…on some of his…worries. This is…quite risky."_**

"**_That's our life though, big guy. You knew it when you signed up for this."_**

"**_I'd like to note I never did."_**

"**_Believe me Adam, maybe if this works we can start to get some answers."

* * *

_**

Somewhere else.

Titans Tower.

"These vital signs continue to dance on the barest edge of life." Viridian commented, as if she was describing the weather, a common habit of robots that were humanoid in design and manner but lacked the inborn factors that humans possessed, like emotion. She continued typing away, while Nigel paced furiously in front of Superboy's medical capsule, the hybrid clone floating there like he was Mark Hamill's stunt double in _The Empire Strikes Back._ While his wounds had been minimized, his body continued to self-destruct, a condition Nigel couldn't do a damn thing about, and it drove him utterly mad. He was a battlefield doctor, and a warrior, he should have been able to do more…and he'd been able to do nothing. Superboy-Prime had savaged him and tossed him aside like garbage, Sophie had vanished into thin air, the world was going to hell, there was another Earth in the sky, and what had he been able to do? Threaten a helpless Elijah Versaw, until his superpowered possible girlfriend had shown up? That had felt good, briefly, but Nigel had swiftly sunk back into self-loathing over his helplessness…

"A notice Mr. Hastings: such rapid, jerking movements will only increase muscle tension and slow down your own healing process, which is something that would be impractical to say the least."

Nigel cursed at Viridian in Blacktrinian.

"It was unnecessary for you to counter my advice with the suggestion to place such a thing in such a way inside me, Mr. Hastings."

Nigel growled loudly.

And then, suddenly, the door to the medical facility snapped open, and Nigel spun, going for his glaive…until he saw it was Robin, with Beast Boy, Wonder Girl, and Speedy III.

"Success!" Beast Boy crowed.

"You found something?" Nigel asked.

"Something, yes. Don't know if it will work, but it's better then nothing." Robin said as he walked in. He'd located and led an assault on one of Lex Luthor's genetic research bases, hoping that Luthor's hand in the hybrid's creation would mean he might have some type of a cure. He had, or he dearly hoped he had, as losing Conner would be another blow that he wasn't sure if he could recover from. Bludhaven…gone, just like that…

Robin shoved his feelings down. He had to act. He'd keep moving forward, just like during all the other tragedies in his life. He'd survived seeing his city brutally battered and half destroyed three times, he could stomach this as well. He had to act.

And so he did, as he administered the antidote, and stepped back as Nigel and Viridian began doing scans and calculations to check its effects.

"…Preliminary reports show great promise. It appears the antidote given is indeed reversing the effects. Chances of full recovery: 73 percent. And climbing." Viridian said, as Robin, Wonder Girl, and Scalpel all visually relaxed, Robin for not failing, Wonder Girl for her feelings, and Scalpel because he took it as a sign that while he may not be much help at times, he wasn't a complete waste.

"All right then. We'll stay a short while to make sure there isn't a drastic turnaround, but we all have to get to Bludhaven as soon as possible. They need every body they can muster."

"I have some notes and reports you may find useful, collected during our observations of Conner." Nigel said.

"Good. Bliss, come with us." Robin said, addressing Viridian.

"Query?" Viridian asked.

"We need EVERYONE, Viridian, including you. You can take your eye off Superboy for the moment. Come on."

"As you wish." Viridian said, as the small group left the room.

Perhaps not the best idea.

No later then ten seconds passed before he emerged.

* * *

Robin was right on Bludhaven needing all the help it could get. It had dispatched a few dozen superheroes already to join rescue operations already on the scene. The group had arrived as fast as possible, ready and eager to help.

And even the most battle scarred of them were struck silent as the ruins came into sight.

"…My god…" Bumblebee said, as she looked at the blasted wasteland that had once been a city. She'd had some hard times in Steel City, but nothing like this, looking on the flaming mass of steel and concrete, more destruction then she'd ever thought possible.

"It's the Final Night all over again." Savior heard someone say, though he couldn't make out just who. And even he wasn't cruel enough to reply that this was worse: as mad and as murderous as the Lord of the Night had been, at least his destruction had been, for lack of a better term, clean. Chemo's impact on the city hadn't just ravaged it, it had bathed the whole downtrodden metropolis with toxic waste and radiation, blighting the land, poisoning it, possibly forever.

"…Ok…" Savior said, his voice uncharacteristically hesitant. "Here's the general plan! For the moment, we need to focus on rescue! BE CAREFUL! There's radiation and all kinds of poisonous garbage everywhere! I can't really say where to start…" Savior said.

"So let's not debate. Come on!" Gauntlet said. "N-Savior, we're going to take Lyn-Lyn into the city, at least look for survivors, she can take radiation, no problem."

"You do that. But Rob, be careful. Your artifact…"

"Will cover it." Gauntlet said, and then was gone, without a quip or a pun. If anything, that made Noel feel worse: you knew it was a crisis when Gauntlet wasn't making jokes.

Savior took a step back and gathered his thoughts. He had to help, and he still had to get his information to the right sources, and there was also…so much…he felt overwhelmed…

A comforting hand was laid on his shoulder, and Savior glanced at Raven, who looked fresher then she'd been when they'd set off.

"I don't know if you should go in Raven. Your powers may be back, but I don't want them fading out in the middle of a waste dump…"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Raven said. "I'll be ok. Just…"

Noel almost felt the surge himself, as something flashed over Raven's eyes, making them go as wide as saucers, before she groaned and stumbled, putting her hands to her head.

"Uhhhhhhh…nnnnn." Raven hissed.

"Raven!"

"I know…ow…well Noel, the good news is the Spectre has been reigned in. He'd been bonded to a new host, I don't know who…but he's out of our hair…but magic's still in utter entropy, now my empathic abilities are spiking without me being able to reign them in-ARGH!" Raven yelled, as her head was barraged with thoughts.

_"The Brotherhood just dropped Chemo on Bludhaven like a bomb!"_

'_They burned right up, right in front of me…!"_

"_That Earth in the sky, what does it mean…?"_

"_I'm looking for my wife! Has anyone seen my wife…?"_

**_"MY WIFE!"_**

"_We have to save her…"_

"**_WE HAVE TO SAVE LOIS!"_**

"Raven! Raven!" Savior was yelling, and Raven realized she was on the ground, as she finally managed to get her powers under control again…not that it helped.

Not with the flashes of what she had seen.

"Raven? Are you all right?" Savior asked worriedly.

"…No." Raven said. "My powers are settled but…Noel. A great love…it's dying. And it could destroy us all."

"What?"

"…I can't explain. We don't have time anyway. We have to go help that city." Raven said as she got up and lifted off the ground. She had no idea if she, with her fluctuating abilities, might leave it alive, but then again, this wasn't the first time such a possibility had been posed to her.

So she went.

* * *

"…**_might never come back. You may just exacerbate our problem…"_**

"**_Hey Birdbrain, what part of less talking, more working don't you understand?"_**

"**_Yes ma'am…"_**

**_"He has a point. This is something none of us might come back from. For one reason or another."_**

"**_And since when has that ever stopped us before?"_**

"**_Nothing can be said that will prevent me from going. After what I did, and what you did for me…I have to. I have too much to make up for."_**

"**_Right, but keep it cool, Jack. You can do a lot more good if you're operative for the next 30 years."_**

"**_If…this works…if it doesn't we may not…be operative for the next 30…seconds."_**

"**_Eh, I always came out ahead in gambling."_**

"**_You would say that Miss Without Fear."_**

"**_What are you afraid of, tubby?"_**

"**_THAT'S IT! YOU…"_**

**_"GUYS!" Thundered a voice that was never meant to thunder anything. "We're ready."

* * *

_**

Titans Tower was well defended. It would take a truly brilliant mind to slip through the defenses unnoticed.

But the man who had come from the shadows, who now stood in front of the glass cylinder that held the recovering Superboy, had such a brilliant mind, and so much more.

"Hn." Lex Luthor said, as he looked upon the recovering clone. The outfit he wore could only be described as anachronistic: a purple and green bodysuit with a flared collar, a far cry from the expensive power suits he had, until recently, always draped his form in. But times had changed, indeed, this outfit was a costume of times past, a time that should have faded from history and memory…if not for a few beings without memories. And with great power. Perhaps the fact that Lex Luthor was actually sporting a five o'clock shadow, once an anathematic thought to him, was no greater example of what they had wrought.

From President to this, all in such a short time…but Luthor, despite lacking Noel's inside information, had more then enough brains to put most of the puzzle together, and Luthor had a feeling that his downfall might be intricately linked with the actions of the others, including his other self. And he hadn't run out of options yet, even if this, one of his best, had proven to be such a disappointment. First breaking his control…and now this.

"You should've been stronger." Luthor said. "You were MADE to be stronger then this. That's what my father used to say to me. Stand up. Face your obstacles. Don't run away from anything. But you did. You ran away from me, from yourself…"

Luthor trailed off, as he placed a hand on the cool glass tube.

"Look at what that doppelganger did to you." He continued. "And **_mine._** He thinks he's **_smarter_** then I am….They always do."

_Especially Superman._ Luthor thought, as he briefly allowed himself to be lost in memory. Of how it all started with Superman's supposed death, how that allowed Luthor to help create the clone that floated before him, the clone that should have been his greatest weapon…but it had all gone wrong. All of it. And at the heart of it all, Superman.

Luthor was far too intelligent and refined to let his hatred do anything like seethe in him…but it burned there all the same. And in the moment, had anyone been watching, perhaps someone might have found the stalemate counter argument to Noel's "We're only human" one, noting that Luthor too was human, indeed, was perhaps the highest example of what separated _homo sapiens_ from the rest of the animals: intelligence. Luthor had perhaps the most brilliant mind on Earth…and it did nothing but drive his dysfunctions, fuel his hate for Superman, and deep down, could never dispel the notion that Luthor would never admit: that for all he could do, even kill Superman and make him stay dead…Superman would always be better then him. No matter what history or society said, Luthor would know it. Just by existing, he was better…and for that, Luthor would hate him until the end of time, perhaps even beyond.

Humanity. Such a wondrous being. Such a terrible creature.

No wonder the world was so messed up, now moreso then ever. Only that fact drove Luthor's assistance. Only naked self-preservation could dispel his usual furies. Once it was over, he'd go right back to it. Even with the intelligence he possessed, he seemed helpless against the darkness in his own heart. Humanity's greatest tragedy.

"But for all my trouble up north…" Luthor said as he produced a small crystal from within his outfit. "I got a look at their technology."

Locating Superboy's clothing, laid out for him, Luthor slipped the crystal into one of the pockets there.

"So should you…" Luthor said, and then, just for a moment, a spark of human emotion crossed his face, the faintest trace of tenderness, but for a brief moment. "My son."

"He's not your son, Luthor!"

Luthor's body snapped to face the door, as he saw Robin, Wonder Girl, Scalpel, and Viridian begin to advance on him, weapons drawn. He thought Wonder Girl had been the one to speak.

"If you hurt him…" She threatened, her golden lasso coiled around her hands.

"Hurt him?" Luthor said, sounding honestly insulted. "I'm here to help. When he needed someone to protect him the most…HE wasn't there. Where was he?"

"Where was who?"

"Where was SUPERMAN!" Luthor snapped, now sounding honestly angry.

"Off helping others. Something Superboy would understand. And so would you, if you had a spark of humanity in that black heart of yours." Nigel retorted.

"Yeah! Don't pretend like you actually CARE about him, Luthor!" Wonder Girl snapped, tossing off her lasso. Her powers might be fading, but she could probably deliver enough of a jolt…

Luthor moved faster.

"Don't bother with your lasso, Wonder Girl." Luthor said, as he grabbed his left wrist with his right hand. "When you have an evil doppelganger trying to tear you out of history…" Luthor hit a button inside his wrist with his thumb. "You learn not to stand in one place too long."

And Luthor vanished, his form disappearing as Wonder Girl's lasso fell over where he had been. Sensing movement, Robin whirled around to find Luthor standing behind the four.

"A short range teleporter?" He said.

"You really **_were_** trained by Batman." Luthor said with a touch of wry sarcasm.

"I am commencing to put Titans Tower under lockdown." Viridian said, as she went for her own wrist device, even as Wonder Girl whirled around, clearly wanting to take another crack at Luthor.

"Hold it! Cassie, Bliss, wait." Robin said.

"For what?" Cassie retorted.

"He's not here to harm Superboy."

"How can you be so sure?"

"…Because Luthor was the one who supplied me with information on how to keep Superboy's cellular structure from deteriorating." Robin said. He was loathe to admit it, but it was true: he'd have had no idea where to look otherwise.

"He's right, Wonder Girl. If I wanted to hurt Superboy, he'd be dead by now." Luthor said matter of factly.

"That doesn't mean we let you walk out of here." Wonder Girl growled, as she started forward…before Robin restrained her.

"**_Children._** I'll do whatever I please." Luthor replied arrogantly. "And right now, believe it or not, I'm on your side."

"Robin!" Came a new voice, and then Beast Boy entered the room. "We heard you arguing. Is everything all…**_LUTHOR?"_** Beast Boy said incredulously as he saw who had snuck into the Tower.

And was now leaving, as he once again pressed the button on his wrist.

"Like you always say, Titans. We're in this together." Luthor said, as he faded from sight, as Beast Boy's eyes darted back and forth, wondering if he should be doing something.

"It's ok Gar. He's leaving." Robin said. Indeed, Luthor was gone.

"It's okay?" Beast Boy still asked. "What the hell was Lex Luthor doing here? Dropping off a Get-Well card?"

"No. It's unimportant. Luthor's not behind these disasters." Robin said.

"That doesn't mean we just let him go!" Wonder Girl protested.

"Bludhaven, Cassie. That's priority." Robin replied.

"Hey. While you guys were out, Gar and I got a message from someone named Skyrocket." Speedy III said, having entered the room with Beast Boy. "It was scrambled, there's hardly any communications getting out of Bludhaven…all we know is that rescue operations are officially under way. As best they can be, and from what I gather, it's not very good."

"And considering Noel's there, that's probably really saying something." Beast Boy said. "Elastigirl and the Doom Patrol are going to meet us there. So are Toni and Tara. We should hurry."

"Agreed. I think we can leave Conner here for now. The rest of us will take the T-Ship and…" Robin began.

"No Tim. I'm going to stay with him." Wonder Girl said. Tim blinked.

"…All of you, nothing's changed, go on, go! Including you, Viridian!" Robin said, and everyone quickly left the room. "…I suppose you have your reasons. You're sure you're staying?"

"Since Paradise Island vanished, my powers are fading…you saw it Tim. I can barely fly any more. I'd just get in the way. Conner needs me more then you do. Someone has to stay and make sure he's really all right. Someone has to be here when he wakes up."

Robin didn't know what to say, so he said nothing.

"Just go. Don't dawdle for me."

"…Ok Cass. The Titans communicator probably won't work in Bludhaven, but if you need anything, just call. Good luck. On everything." Robin said, and left.

"I will…thank you Tim." Wonder Girl said.

She heard the ship take off less then two minutes later, as she knelt and looked at Conner's floating form.

"…Why did all this happen?" She asked. "That freaky Superboy said we were ruining everything. He acted like all the bad stuff going on was **_our_** fault. It was like…he missed the simpler times…I do too."

Wonder Girl got up, turning away from the capsule, as if she didn't want Conner to see the tear welling up in her eye.

"I miss the way things used to be…I miss the way **_we_** used to be…" Cassie whispered.

And by being turned away, she didn't see Conner's eyes blink open. But she heard him.

"MmmGg…"

"Conner?" Wonder Girl said as she turned around…and saw the teen rearing back with his fists. "CONNER?"

With a crash of glass and a rush of medicine-scented liquid, Conner smashed his way out of the tube, collapsing at Wonder Girl's feet.

"Conner! Are you ok?" Wonder Girl asked, as she got on her knees and lifted Conner up, smiling despite the suddenness of it all.

"Mmmgmgggf…" Conner mumbled through the breather on his face.

"What?"

Conner pulled the mask off.

"I said 'Get me outta here.'" The teen breathed, as Cassie smiled again and helped him up. "Whew. Smell that? It's like taking a bath in Nyquil. What happened?"

"You had to undergo some genetic treatments, but they said you were going to be ok now. You just need some time to recharge." Wonder Girl said, as she helped Conner from the room.

"I'm good enough…nnn…"

"Take it easy Conner."

"I gotta help…whoever I can…where's Robin? Where are the other Titans?" Superboy asked, as the two left the room.

In the end, the two would leave the Tower, but not to join the others. Conner was too drained, and Cassie too weak from her fading powers. They would go elsewhere. But what they did is a tale for others to tell.

Let us turn to more pressing matters…

* * *

Bludhaven.

There were some things Noel Collins never admitted, to himself much less to others, and one of those things was that in certain cases it didn't matter how much you trained, how much you learned, how much you prepared, or even how much you experienced. When it came down to the crunch, you either had it or you didn't.

Noel had been in disaster zones before. His city had seen multiple attacks from extremely powerful villains, and not all of the damage had a Deus Ex Machina attached to lessen or nullify it. Not to mention his aiding in various natural disasters. And unlike most, he'd actually spent time trying to harden his heart to such things so he could function efficiently in them.

But, as he landed on a building that looked stable, he was wondering if all of those things simply wasn't enough for what he had seen for the past several hours. He was soaked with sweat, filthy with dirt and other containments, and his head was spinning at the sheer scope of it all. It didn't matter that by then plenty of other heroes had shown up, and were doing their best to aid them. Their communication was minimal, distorted, worthless, because the city was still festering with toxic and radioactive pollutants, Chemo's final 'Screw you' to the city it had destroyed. Some of the areas were so intensely irritated not even the armored or robot heroes could get in them, not like they would find any survivors there anyway, but it disrupted their communication lines, and besides, anything pumping out deadly amounts of emission waves like the kind Chemo emitted wasn't good in any location. Noel had seen the Metal Men, some defunct superhero team called the Power Company, and had seen John Stewart and Plastic Man off in the distance a few times, and he'd tried to give some of them suggestions, but unlike the teenage heroes Noel carried no weight with them, and they were too busy doing their own thing.

It was something he couldn't take control of. Noel let that bother him for about a minute, and then went back to work. He could still control himself. He could still do some good.

But without any support (even Raven had left, telling him he was too busy hovering over her to do his job), it was all starting to bear down on him.

"…Damn it Collins, you will not be proven a hypocrite." Noel growled to himself. "_Illegitimis non carborundum."_

" 'Don't let the bastards get you down.' Nice." Came a voice, and Noel glanced to the side as Green Arrow landed nearby. Of all people, Speedy II was with him.

"Well I'll be damned." Noel commented: the two of them didn't hate each other, but there was a lot of bad blood nonetheless.

"That kind of stuff doesn't matter here. What's going on in your end?" Green Arrow asked.

"We're doing what we can…"

"Yeah, that seems to be the catchphrase here." Green Arrow said, as he cocked another arrow. "Do more!"

Noel let him go without a snarky counter. This wasn't the time and place, and besides, Ollie was right, as Noel swung off in another direction.

Nearby, the 'Hero Club' was doing what it could to get survivors out of a dangerously listing building, but even Paragon and Legend didn't have the proper strength to hold up hundreds of tons of stone, and the building began to buckle…

"THAT'S ALL OF THEM!" Gauntlet yelled as he leapt from a window holding a family and two teenagers unrelated to them. Paragon flew as fast as she could, grabbing Legend and pulling her away as the building went down, thick dusty smoke enveloping the group and filling their lungs.

"Ok…now we…need medical…" Gauntlet coughed, wiping at his eyes…and spotting a figure above them. "HEY!"

Savior dropped down.

"Savior, where are the doctors?" Gauntlet snapped before Noel could say anything.

"…Wha…uh…" Savior said.

"Doctors! Now!"

"…I…I can't…" Savior said, as he tried to put his frazzled brain in order.

"Damn it Collins, now is NOT a good time to be falling apart!" Paragon added. Savior stared at the two. This was the goof and his pining girl next door? Where was THEIR inner crisis?

Not letting it control them. That was clear. And Noel would rather put up then shut up.

"Hang on, give me two seconds…"

"We don't have two seconds!"

"You just WASTED two seconds saying we don't have them!" Noel retorted. "Ok, I remember now. What're the exact injuries…"

Gauntlet wasn't the only one hunting for medical aid.

"Hey, where are the med units set up?" Skyrocket yelled to her group as she cradled an injured, elderly man, her group currently consisting of Green Arrow, Black Lightning, Dr. Light II (The good female one) several of the Metal Men, and a few others.

"I think just over the water…west? Anyone know for sure?" One of the Metal Men replied, Skyrocket couldn't remember which one.

"Signals are too weak. I'm not having any luck reachin' Doc. All communications are down!"

"Just keep the building standing, Lead. Doctor Light and Black Lightning are shinin' a spotlight inside, trying to find survivors."

"My daughter! Where's my daughter!" A female bystander cried, just one of many voices raised in anguish as the heroes desperately tried to snatch order from unimaginable chaos.

Fortunately, more help was on the way, as the T-Ship flew over Bludhaven, put in autopilot as the cockpits opened.

"Let's go Titans!" Beast Boy said as he flew down as a hawk, the rest of the Titans swiftly following.

"Ok guys, priority is getting people out! We don't know just what the radioactive levels are…" Robin began.

"Robin, is that you?" Sparked Robin's communicator. "John Stewart here. I'm trying to tap into all available communication devices with my ring, overheard you…the radiation levels are deadly in the heart of the city! And they've contaminated the water supply!"

"Who's in charge here?" Robin replied.

"Believe me kid, your guess is as good as mine. I'm just trying to get people out of this death zone…!"

Chaos.

"Someone help me…"

"Total casualties for 7th street, not even the cockroaches survived…"

"Tin went WHERE? Those temperatures will turn him into molten slag! I know he was jealous of me, but that's just stupid!"

"He was brave. He found six survivors, Mercury."

"After we're done here, we go find HIM."

"Hey, anyone see Metamorpho? These people are parched! We need drinkable water!"

"Gar? The fire's spreading!"

"That's the last of them Speedy! Just hang on to Dumbo, kids!"

"I turn INTO water Plastic Man. I don't make it."

"Well why the heck didn't anyone bring some? Anyone seen Firestorm?"

"He's in space. I think. Or helpin' find the Spectre."

"Well, where are those medic units? I thought someone said they were north."

"I thought they said west? Who's in charge of this rescue operation anyway?"

"Hey Noel, why don't you have everyone running in lockstep by now?"

"Amy, I know you don't like me, but now's not the time. I tried, now we're doing this. And don't use…actually forget it."

"Mom? I need to find my mom!" A random female bystander cried. "She needs medication…"

The bystander's words cut off as she saw the car, out of control, careen at her, and she began to scream…

And then Robin swooped down, snatching the woman up and out of harm's way, even as the driver crashed into a brick wall. Robin saw the body fly through the windshield and hit the wall as well, and grimaced to himself.

"I got you." He said to the woman, more for his own benefit then hers.

"Why? Why would anyone do this?" The woman cried. "Who would want to hurt so many people?"

Robin had no words for her.

And somewhere in the city, looking at the burning ruins that it had become, another hero had no words for it all.

Nightwing stood there, stoically, his face not betraying a whit of the storm of emotions that stirred within him.

Deathstroke. He never should have listened. He should have realized he'd offended the madman's twisted sense of pride. But he thought he'd had it covered. Thought there was enough honor in among the madness to keep Slade Wilson at bay. But he'd been wrong, and his city had paid a horrible price.

Nightwing had already struck back to some degree, but other things were more important now. He'd take the rest of his pound of flesh from the mercenary later…if there was a later.

So much chaos…

And for the moment, all Nightwing could do was watch.

* * *

He was too far away to aid the people anyway.

"Help! Somebody please…!" The father of a family begged.

"No one's coming! No one can hear us!" The mother said cynically, even as she clutched her young daughter to her, as the roof caved in and rubble plummeted towards them…

"Do not be afraid."

The shadows enveloped the three. The rubble struck nothing but air and floor as they were spirited away.

"I hear you."

The shadows remerged outside, as Raven unwrapped her cloak from the three…and then collapsed to her knees.

"Th-thank you." The father said, apparently not realizing what was going on. But the daughter did.

"Mommy, is she okay?"

No, Raven wanted to say, she was not ok. She had been another flux, or spike, or drop, or something in the fields, and Raven was once again being barraged by thoughts and experiences, and due to the irregular eruptions in the fields of magic Raven had no idea if she was seeing present thoughts, echoes of past thoughts, or ripples of future thoughts, or all of the above mixed together, and then some.

"_I need to help my wife."_

"_It's going to be ok now, Lois. We're home."_

"Nnnnn." Raven hissed, holding her head as she tried to collect herself. She had to help people, not lie here paralyzed by ghosts of memories…

_"Please! Help me!"_

"_Help!"_

"_Tap into whatever magic is left and summon the Spectre for help."_

"_Why would he help us? He changed magic."_

"_None of our powers are working right."_

"_We can't just sit here…"_

"_I'm so afraid…"_

"_Afraid…"_

_"AFRAID…"_

Raven's eyes snapped open. This wasn't the echo of thoughts. This was something more powerful, more purposeful, and more malignant.

_"Are you afraid too…daughter of Trigon?"_

"What's happening to me…" Raven whispered.

* * *

What was happening was simple: a direct assault on Raven's mind…albeit a relatively mild one.

"Heh." Chortled a man dressed in relatively normal clothes and a long green coat…and with the top of his head composed not of skin and hair but seemingly crystal, showing his brain, pulsing with some kind of strange power.

"What's so amusing, Psimon?" Shimmer asked.

Heroes were not the only ones in Bludhaven. The Society, the cause of the disaster, had sent its agents too, with its far less altruistic motives. In one realm, their grouping went one way…but in this, perhaps due to another punch on the crystal wall of time, things were a bit different.

"I can sense Raven in proximity." Psimon chuckled, enjoying his cruelty. "She's nearly overwhelmed by the chaos around her. I'm just pushing some more buttons. You mention Trigon and her pulse quickens by ten percent." The master psychic said. "She's not the only one. Their 'rescue operation' is a disaster."

"Don't forget why the Society sent us here." Said Sabotage. In another world, perhaps someone else said that…but not here. Mammoth stood silently in the background, arms crossed, as if waiting.

"Of course, Sabotage. To collect the genius that was dropped on this fair city." Psimon said, as he turned his attention to what lay before him.

It looked all the world like a floating head with faintly human features, except this head was the size of the average person. And made of some kind of clear plastic, which was cracked. Which didn't stop it from slowly sucking up the green poisons around it, the liquid already having filled the first third of the strange cranial construct.

"Chemo." Psimon said, for that was what it was. "But there's not much left anymore. I sense a few raw thoughts. Some confusion." Psimon said, and chuckled to himself. "Like a child who spilled some milk. He's actually SORRY for what he's done."

The good humour vanished quickly.

"Well, you'll have to do it again, Chemo. The Society says Gotham City's next."

Maybe Psimon shouldn't have spoken so loudly. Some people have big ears.

"MONSTERS!" Came a bellow, and then Scalpel's form leapt over some rubble, his glaive snapping out. "YOU WILL PAY!"

"Oh, please." Sabotage said, as he snapped his fingers, activating his probability altering powers as Nigel was suddenly seized by agonizing stomach cramps, aborting the alien's attack as he crashed to the ground. "He should talk about monsters. Hey Mammoth, don't you have…"

Sabotage was still too young to realize that just because an attack has come doesn't mean that one wave is it, as Robin dropped down from another angle.

"Actually, I think he's quite apt." Robin said, as he hurled down several orbs. A knockout gas exploded from them on impact.

"Why do you want to do this?" He snapped, landing, as the gas claimed Sabotage, Shimmer, and Mammoth before they could react…but not Psimon, he'd escaped the narcotic effects, which was bad: his mental powers far outweighed Robin's combat ability, even if Nigel got back up. He didn't back down though. "Why? Money? Power?"

Psimon glanced back at his fallen companions, though his expression remained unconcerned.

"Oh, we HAVE those already, Robin." Psimon said, as he looked back at Robin with a cruel half-smirk. "We're doing this for **_fun."_**

Robin barely dodged the blast of mental energy Psimon sent shooting at him.

"And fun is listening to all the thoughts of all these naïve people in spandex." Psimon said, as Robin barely dodged a second shot: he wouldn't dodge a third. "You actually believe you've been put on this Earth to HELP people."

"Yeah, we do." Said a new voice. Not Scalpel's.

Psimon didn't even get a chance to look, as a pair of lips pursed and then blew, exhaling a hurricane force wind.

"AKKK!" Psimon yelled as the wind easily picked him up and flung him into a nearby building with bone rattling force, the impact scrambling his brain as he fell, crashing down on some rubble.

He never even got to look up at the tall, muscular figure, clad in red and blue, the yellow and red S on the shield still standing tall in the face of all the devastation.

"Sorry to interrupt Psimon." Superman said. "I thought you were Brainiac."

Psimon had no reply: he was unconscious.

Superman rejoined Robin, who had by then been joined by Beast Boy, Speedy III, and Raven, who was checking on Nigel (who was, as usual, insisting he was fine).

"How's Superboy?" He asked.

"He's doing better." Robin replied.

"And the situation here?"

"Actually…" Robin said, as he tried to find the right words…and did. "It sucks."

"Um, can you say that to him?" Beast Boy asked his companions.

"There's no organization. No supplies. Despite several efforts." Robin said.

"But there is a lot of confusion." Raven added, her powers now calmed once more.

"Someone has to take charge." Robin said, as Beast Boy recognize the Batman starting to come out in Tim. "So that's what WE'RE going to do." Robin said, as he actually pointed at Superman as if he was issuing him commands. Which stunned the Titans there.

"Did Robin just point at Superman?" Raven asked. Superman said nothing, as Robin realized how presumptuous he was being. It faded…somewhat.

"I…it's frustrating Superman." Robin said.

"I know it is. But you're right. They need a leader, and you're more then qualified." Superman said. The Teen Titans stared. "I've discovered that Chemo is trying to gather himself back together, and as he does he's removing all the toxic and radioactive wastes in the area. If I attack him, he does this faster to defend himself. Once I get him all together, I'll deal with him…but I can do something to help you first."

* * *

Another Earth, floating in the sky.

And on it, things were much more calm. Much more peaceful. But not entirely without strife.

"Are you sure she's going to be ok?" Floral asked, as Sophie wiped the sweat from her brow.

"I've done what I can…her metal body is much more of a hindrance then a help." Sophie said, looking down at the still form of Platinum Blonde, who had suffered a devastating, face shattering blow at the hands of Superboy-Prime. "But she'll be able to breathe for now. We'll worry about her eating and…"

The words were abruptly interrupted by an unexpected thing: Rocko fell apart.

"Lorant!" Scorcher said, as she ran over. "What's wrong?"

"Ugh…magic…going wacko…" The golem said. "When my soul…ended up in this form…it was magic that kept it here, magic that kept it together…magic's going down the tubes. I'm not sure if I can hold myself together…if I can even stay alive…"

"Don't talk like that Lorant. You're tough. Just rest. We're in no hurry." Scorcher said, as she turned to Zippy. "Sal, search for others. There must be SOMEONE else here. I want to know how we got here, why, and just where HERE is. Hurry!"

"Youbetcha." Zippy said, as she raced off. She was never so glad she didn't rely on the Speed Force as she was now.

"I guess we wait…damn. What's going on?" Scorcher asked.

"If I had to guess…that's our Earth. It's like we're on a copy or something." Sophie said, pointing at the Earth in the sky, a sight mirrored on this new Earth-2. "But…why us? Why aren't all the Titans here? What was the selection process? I can't say." Sophie said. She wished Nigel was here, less because she wanted him then she knew he'd be going insane with her fate so up in the air. But all she could do for now was keep an eye on the injured Platinum Blonde, and hope that the next surprise she got wasn't in the realm of her last one.

* * *

**_"Ok, listen up. I don't want to have to repeat myself so really, listen. Now…I'm going to be the tether."_**

"**_I still think that the idea you can do this because you came out of her is stupid…"_**

"**_No one asked you! I'm the tether! Tubby here is going to use her old powers to augment me and her new powers to augment the whole process, something that you, greenjeans, are going to aid with with your shiny things. D-Man's hammer is going to act as a focuser and a key, and Birdbrain is going to make the whole thing flow smoothly with what he build. The rest of you are going to cross your fingers, hang on, and hope that I know what the hell I'm talking about so we don't blow most of our city off the map or get permanently phased out of sync with reality or end up in the Dimension of No Shrimp or do something more ordinary like die. Now, we do this, as said before, there may be no coming back. In all kinds of ways. So if anyone wants to back out, do it now. We won't hold it against you."_**

_**Silence.**_

"**_I thought so. Ok now, Jack and I…we're going to be the leaders."_**

"**_What?"_**

"**_That's what I've decided!"_**

"**_But…"_**

"**_Jack, you want to make up for your sins? Then get on the front lines."_**

_**Silence.**_

"**_This is crazy."_**

"**_So's our life. You should know that by how you got here, pinky."_**

"**_MY NAME IS…"_**

"**_IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!"_**

"**_If you people are done reciting the former apophthegms of a supposed practitioner of Greco-Roman close quarter combat, we're ready. I just need the word."_**

"**_All right then. Off into the wild blue yonder."_**

**_"Up up and away." Someone else said grimly.

* * *

_**

And speaking of the man that phrase described, he had been very busy, as he flew to every single hero in the Bludhaven city limits. The Green Lanterns (Hal Jordan had joined John Stewart), The Outsiders, and dozens of superheroes Robin had never met or even heard of. They had all briefly taken the time to regroup in the park.

And Superman had said, to more then a few people's surprise, that the Teen Titans were in charge.

Robin expected questions. Disagreements. Arguments.

There were none.

Everyone listened to Superman.

And Robin was reminded, once again, just what made him the one who stood above all others. Because it meant that everyone listened to him, in turn.

Sometimes, Robin didn't feel comfortable taking the lead. Sometimes he butted heads with others, sometimes he wondered if he was qualified, and sometimes he wondered why he, little more then a child, should be so foolish to think he should be doing this.

This wasn't one of those times. He wanted to do it, and he was comfortable doing it. And so he did.

A reformed for the moment group called the Ravers headed off to get fresh water and medical supplies. The Metal Men continued to repair the bridges in and out of the city. Others went back to their tasks of search, rescue, and in a few cases, assisting Superman in his regathering of Chemo slash leeching the poisons from the ruins. Everyone got to work, organized at last.

"Great work Tim. Always knew you had it in you." Savior said as he dropped down next to Robin.

"Then I suppose you have a valid reason for not listening?" Robin replied.

"Yes, actually…look Tim, I know this is a bad situation…but you've finally gotten it together. And I still have that information I need to give."

"Noel, is it really…"

"YES, Tim. I'd stake my life on it."

"…Ok, you can go then."

"Tim, not just that. I need two things. One, Superman's going off to regather Chemo. Do you think you can get his attention when he's done? I'd like to ask him to give me a lift to Gotham City, if he can manage it. I'd ask Raven, but her powers are too unsure. Better someone else, or at worst, on foot."

"I can probably manage to ask him. As fast as he is probably won't take more then five seconds. What's the other?"

"…Tim, under any other circumstances I would never ask this…"

"This isn't any other circumstances. Out with it."

"…Batman." Savior said. "Tell me who he is."

Robin went silent.

"I have to tell him what I've learned. But I don't have time to set a neutral ground. I need to find him as soon as possible, and chances are, that's on his home ground. And only you can point the way Tim. Please. I NEED to know."

"…How do I know you're Noel Collins?"

"That's a stupid question. You're stupid Robin." Savior replied. That was the code phrase the two had.

"Hang on." Robin said, as he pulled Savior aside. "This is not the same as when I revealed who I was to you Noel. Batman has spent most of his life thwarting geniuses who have tried to figure out who he is, and he mainly does that by only telling people he can trust. So Savior…I need you to swear. On everything you have. Your honor, your future happiness, your children's heads, EVERYTHING."

"Everything. I swear on it…" Savior said, as a Shimmer blade formed in one hand…which he ran across the palm of another, cutting a shallow wound. "And my own blood, may any and all beings strike me down if I violate this trust."

"…All right." Robin said, and pulled out a strange device from his belt. "Sound baffler. No one within a foot of us hears this." Robin said, as he leaned in.

And he whispered four words into Noel's ears.

Noel's pupils dilated, just a bit.

"…You know, that's perfect hindsight bias sense." Savior replied.

"Robin!" Came a yell, and then Speedy II swung down on a cord, holding a child with the other. He set it down, and as the child ran to his parents, the archer turned to face the teen. "I just saw that kid Hotspot. He spotted some more Society members around. Close."

"All right then. Let's go." Robin said.

"Until Superman's done, I'm all yours." Savior said, as he went with Robin and several others. He hoped Superman took a few more minutes: he had some aggression to work out.

And so the Titans, and all the heroes, did what they did: they saved people. They stopped evil. And while maybe they didn't do it with a song in their hearts, they did it anyway.

Considering that they eventually had to work with the background eventually coming to contain a reformed Chemo, a giant toxic monstrosity of viscous green ooze, as it traded blows with Superman, that was saying something.

When Superman finally picked up Chemo and hurled him into space, that did wonders for morale.

It didn't last long. Reports were coming in, all around the world. Bludhaven wasn't the only city in crisis. The world was going to hell in a handbasket, and the heroes couldn't stay concentrated in such numbers for so long, as they began to depart, for various destinations.

Savior was hopping across some buildings and wondering what time it was when Superman suddenly popped up in front of him, causing him to stop dead.

"Robin informed me. Form something to protect your face and fasten your clothes to you, and then hold your breath." Superman said. Savior didn't ask questions.

* * *

Earth-2.

The gathered heroes had plenty of questions, but they had no one to ask them of. Zippy had managed to locate the remaining heroes who had been warped to the Earth: the vigilante Flamebird, and the Justice Society members Wildcat, Hourman, Sand, STRIPE, and Jay Garrick, who had been known as the Flash until the death of the Speed Force, and the Elementals, carefully carrying Platinum Blonde, had made their way to them. Rocko barely made it, her body seemingly failing more by the minute. Scorcher had sent Zippy out to search the city for anyone else, and then retired to look after Rocko and Platinum Blonde. The other heroes didn't have any better ideas on what to do.

"…Where'd everybody go?" Flamebird asked for roughly the 17th time.

"Well, from what I've seen, I think it's more about where we went Flamebird. I'm bettin' that Earth up there is ours." STRIPE said, indicating the Earth floating in the sky.

"Well, why did WE come here?" Flamebird asked.

"Where is here?" Hourman echoed.

"I can't tell you that Hourman, but I can tell you something." Sand said, as he examined some dirt. "It's not natural. It looks more like this place was manufactured. The amounts of oxygen, silicon, and aluminum are in perfect balance. All the pollution in the ground is…"

"Gone." Jay Garrick finished.

"…He speaks the truth…I can…sense it too." Rocko said from where she lay on the ground. "Not…natural…just…gone."

"Just like the people." Wildcat said. "But why do I got this funny feelin' in my gut, Jay? Like we ain't the only ones here?"

"We were selected by some process. It stands to guess that others could have been, as well." Sophie said. "But who?"

Sophie could not have known the answer, could not have seen another city elsewhere, on that same world. Only two people were there, before a building called the Daily Star. Unlike the heroes in Keystone, they knew only joy.

It would not last. And it would only be the beginning.

* * *

The journey was so brief that as soon as it had begun, it had ended, as Savior found himself floating with Superman above a giant mansion on the offskirts of Gotham City.

"Here we are." Superman said, as Savior dismissed his protection. "Just go in and ask for Alfred. I have to be elsewhere."

"Yes. Go." Savior said, as he dropped down. Within a second, Superman was gone.

Savior realized it six seconds later as he was hunting for a door.

"ARGGGGH! YOU IDIOT!" Savior yelled to himself, as he realized that he could have given the information to Superman as well. He was sure he would find it useful…but it was too late. With the speed at which he was moving, he could already be across the United States, out of earshot even for him.

Kicking himself, Noel kept looking. How could he have made such a slip? Well, too late now. He was here, and he had a job to do, as he found a patio door. It was locked.

Then, with a Shimmer pick serving as a key, it was unlocked, as Noel made his way into the shadowy innards.

"Hello! Anyone here? HELLO!" Savior yelled. "Hello! HELLO! Damn." Savior said, as he looked around. "Is no one upstairs? Assuming Tim didn't lie to me, there must be a concealed entrance somewhere in this house, but I don't want to tear it apart to find it…"

"That won't be necessary." A refined British voice said, and Savior whirled to see the form of a semi-elderly butler standing in a nearby doorway. The fact he was holding a shotgun somewhat ruined the welcome.

"You're Alfred?" Savior asked.

"Yes. Alfred Pennyworth, at your service. I believe I do not know you though…"

"You don't have to playact for me, Alfred. I know. I know who Batman is." Savior said. Alfred's facial expression didn't change at all, so Noel kept talking. "And in a way, it makes perfect sense. People always talk about how dark and how dangerous Gotham is and how it's filled with lunatics, and all that, and people when they talk about that stuff always ask "How did this happen, where did it begin"…well, a lot of people settle on one event: when Thomas and Martha Wayne were shot in front of their son, in Crime Alley, by a killer who was never caught." Savior said. "Knowing that…it's almost easy to know who Batman is. Who else could he be, but their son, Bruce Wayne?"

Alfred remained silent, and he held the gun steady.

"Look, I can understand your actions, but I need to speak to your master, PLEASE. I have vital intelligence, so to speak, and he's probably the best one who could use it. If you want I'll let you hold a gun to my head the whole time and pull the trigger if you get even the slightest inkling that I…"

"No need for that, young sir." Alfred said, lowering his gun. "In my early youth I spent a fair bit of time on the stage…and I know it is virtually impossible to act such outright distress. Come with me." Alfred said. Savior sighed in relief, and followed the butler. "I assume young master Timothy provided you with this information."

"Only because I begged him too."

"He was quite clear on the specifics of such a gift?" Alfred said as he went to a grandfather clock and began adjusting the hands.

"Yes."

"…The master may not be pleased."

"He can get mad at me later, if there's still an Earth left." Savior said, as the springs on the clock sprung open and slid aside, revealing the door.

* * *

Batman didn't much care for waiting, but at the moment, he didn't know what else he could do.

He was to blame for much of this, in some ways. He had built the Brother I satellite, and while he had no hand in it becoming Brother Eye and unleashing the OMAC threat, he had put the game in motion. Now he had to end it.

And much to his surprise, others knew as well. Like Booster Gold, the hero from the future, who had shown up with someone Batman had never seen before: Jamie Reyes, the new Blue Beetle. Gold claimed that being from the future, he knew that Batman was going to hunt down Brother Eye, and would fail to find him…but things had changed. Batman might not be able to locate the cloaked satellite and its malevolent AI program, but Jamie supposedly could.

And considering Batman's brooding ignorance had led to the death of Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle before Jamie, Batman could at least include them in his battle plans. But they also required other superheroes and metas, not all of whom had arrived.

And Savior wasn't on that list, so it was understandable that he wasn't exactly pleased when he just popped up. Coming down the stairs. With Alfred.

"…Collins." Batman said. "What's the meaning of this?"

"I'm sorry sir. But this is definitely a desperate time." Savior replied. "…Robin told me your secret."

Batman's eyes narrowed a bit.

"…Look, afterward…"

"Forget it. You clearly have a very strong reason for coming here, what is it?"

"Well, knowing you you may already have this information already but…"

"Out with it."

"You know of that other Superboy I assume."

"Yes. He also destroyed the Watchtower and took J'onn. I know of him and his companion, a doppelganger of some kind of Lex Luthor."

"Alexander Luthor." Savior replied. "Batman, while I was fighting that Superboy, I inadvertently read his mind. I found out his memories…and stuff Alex Luthor told him. An inside line, you might say. I thought you might find it useful."

"…I've learned much myself, but there are gaps that I do need to fill in. So tell me then. Start from the beginning."

"Well, that's the thing sir. If I just talk, this will take at least an hour, time we don't have. And if I type it up, even if I use my powers to speed it up, you still have to read it, more time we don't have…"

"What are you suggesting?"

"…I put the information straight into your synapses." Savior said, as he formed a Shimmer tool. "No reading your mind, just inserting information. It will take, at most, thirty seconds…but there's a chance of brain damage. A small chance, very small…but a chance. So I'll understand…"

"Do it."

"Are you sure sir…"

"Do it…" Batman said, as he gestured for Booster Gold to turn the new Blue Beetle away. Savior wondered why he did that…until Batman reached up and pulled back his cowl to give Savior easier access.

He looked so tired. So…human. And yet he wasn't slowing down in the slightest.

Neither could Savior, as he sent out the Shimmer, inserting it through Batman's ear canals and nostrils.

"This will hurt, just a bit. Ok, here we go sir." Savior said, and began the 'download'.

Since the brain wasn't exactly designed to undergo such a process, Batman didn't get so much a coherent line of events as he did a storm of emotion and image, and he winced, just a bit, a slight trickle of blood flowing from his nose.

"Don't worry, it will clear up. It did for me, it should do so swiftly…" Savior said, as he kept pumping it in.

It actually took 26 seconds.

"Are you all right sir?" Savior asked.

Batman said notice, as he replaced his mask, as he let the new information flow over him, as he took another look at the puzzle…

"…Thank you. This will help." Batman said, as he turned away and headed for the computer. He could make a few adjustments…

"I am glad sir…but I need to return to Bludhaven, and my mode of transportation to get here has already left. If I can borrow a car or something…"

"Go with Alfred, he'll provide you with something. I do not need you any more." Batman said. Savior took it in stride.

"…Good luck sir." Savior said, as he hurried off.

"…You too, child. You too." Batman said, more to himself then anything, and then went back to work.

* * *

In Bludhaven, the Titans and remaining heroes continued their work, ignoring their need for rest or release. Elsewhere on the planet, other heroes did the same.

In Wayne Manor, a car that cost more then most people earn in five years roared out of an aboveground garage, Alfred looking after it with a slightly stunned expression. And he had thought the master could drive recklessly at times.

And on Earth-2…it was all about to fall apart.

As a promise was revealed to be false, and a destiny, one that had long been denied in the good intentions that pave the way to hell, came to pass.

And in that, a great love died.

And in that, something terrible began once more.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Sophie said. Everyone looked at her. "No one?"

"Heard what, miss?" Wildcat asked.

"I don't know…it was very faint but…I'm not sure. Sounded like a drawn out O…maybe another syllable in there…"

"Hmmmmm…" STRIPE said, as he checked his systems. "Could just be background noise of some kind…but to be sure I'd have to sift through it all…"

"Hey." Zippy said as she suddenly appeared. "GuysI'vegoneoverthewholecityand…"

"Whoa! Sal! Please…try and speak slower for the people who don't know you." Scorcher said.

"Ohsorry." Zippy said, and concentrated. "Guys…I've checked the whole city, even the areas around it. There's nothing there. No people, anywhere. This place is empty. We're the only ones here."

"Of course, this doesn't answer the question of why." Scorcher said. "Zippy, did you by any chance hear anything lately?"

"Hear…nonothingspecial…"

"Guys." Rocko said. Everyone turned to the teen turned golem turned rock pile, only a few traces of humanity left. "Feel the ground."

Confused, the heroes did just that.

"Um…feels…a bit warm…not really anything besides that…" Hourman said.

"There." Rocko said. "Did you feel that?"

No one had…except Sand, who thought he might have felt something.

"I'm more connected to the ground, and its vibrations, due to my nature…just REALLY concentrate." Rocko said. The heroes did, but they didn't feel anything.

Well, Sophie thought she might have, but it was up in the air: it had seemed like a very faint buzzing under her hand.

"I think I see what you mean, Miss…Smith wasn't it?" Sand said. "Very minor Earth tremors."

"Sowhatwe'rehavinganearthquake…" Zippy said.

"No. These aren't tremors from within the Earth. Those are different. These are tremors caused by outside forces. We're apparently quite far away from wherever ground zero is so that only I and Sand can really feel them…but I can." Rocko said. "I could be wrong, but somewhere, close enough, someone is hitting the Earth, or worse, hitting something ABOVE the Earth, with such strength that it's making the Earth shake to the point that you can feel the faintest vibrations here. So you might want to ask just who has that much power…and just how, and why, they're releasing it."

* * *

Sophie had been right: she had heard something. Her bat mutation had allowed her hearing to pick up a trace of it. A name. A name mournfully called so loudly it had shattered the windows of a whole city.

A name that Superman had heard clear enough, even on another Earth. How it had crossed the airless vacuum of space, he had no idea. But he had heard it. He had been drawn to it.

If Noel had given him the information, perhaps he might have had a much better idea of what to expect. But he hadn't. And so he had been taken by surprise.

And he had once again found himself in battle, with a man who wore his face, albeit older, more worldy, and racked with terrible pain…pain that swiftly transformed itself to rage.

And so Superman and his other battled, and throughout this battle, somehow Superman saw the other's life. It did not slow his fists, as he did not agree with what he saw.

And hence the battle went, each utterly believing themselves to be in the right, each commanding the power of a god.

Their blows shook the world.

Quite literally.

* * *

And all the while, a pair of blue eyes watched it all.

Clad in an outfit of gold, a head of short cut curly red hair on his face, and a relatively handsome visage pinched in thought and study, Alexander Luthor stood and watched this latest event unfold. He was not surprised: he had predicted it happening, as he had predicted most of the crisis. It was all part of his master plan, the one that had resulted in so much trouble and sorrow for the DC universe, and had unleashed Superboy-Prime on the teenage heroes with devastating results.

He only had one companion now, in the arctic lands that held his reality-altering tower: Roger Hayden, aka the Psycho-Pirate, one of the few beings who naturally remembered the original Crisis and its full extent. Hayden had served the Anti-Monitor, and now in turn served Alexander Luthor, his emotion-warping and controlling powers having proven immensely useful in Alexander's machinations. Hayden, clad in his red and black outfit, the golden Medusa Mask covering his face, was not as sure as Alexander was, but then again, Alexander mused, that was no surprise.

"The Lois Lane of Earth-2 has died?" The Psycho-Pirate asked.

"She was never going to survive. A price for the future." Alexander replied. "I will miss her."

"I sense very little sorrow in you, Alex." The Psycho-Pirate replied. Alex shifted his position, just a bit, and in turn Hayden shifted his.

"Watch yourself, Psycho-Pirate." Alexander said. "The tower has been activated. You move too far away from it and you'll be transported back to Earth-2 like the others on this planet."

"Um…and what about Superboy-Prime? Does his disappearance not concern you?"

"Superboy served his purpose. I have everything I need." Alexander replied. He could tell the Psycho-Pirate was still disquieted by his emotions, but he didn't care. Hayden was pathetic, and a lunatic on top of it. His unrefined mind could never understand Alexander's motivation. What it was like to be created simply to save the universe and then forced to watch everything you had never had and everything you never would.

True, once he would have cared about Lois' death. But those days were gone. His time in that heaven that was anything but…it had cleared his vision. For that, he had manipulated Superboy-Prime, as well as Kal-L and his wife Lois Lane-Kent. Indeed, Kal-L never realized that the reason his wife grew weaker in the heaven, a weakness that had allowed Alex to manipulate him as well, was because of Superboy-Prime's actions, pounding on the crystal wall of time in blind, adolescent rage, changing events in the universe, causing events to secede and supercede each other, and resulting in alterations and changes and contradictions and other such events…punches that were also affecting Lois, sending out waves of power that struck her body, making her weaker, making Kal-L, who somehow could not sense the waves, more desperate, having spent too long with her, unable to accept there were some things even he could not best. Alexander had known this, and used this, as he had used everything.

He had no regrets. Indeed, it was something Kal-L had said himself.

"We sacrificed so much for this universe. When is it going to do something for us?"

Alex knew. Never. It was damaged too much, shot through with taint and weakness. It was useless to Alex, except as a tool. Like Superboy-Prime, now lost, maybe forever. Like the Psycho-Pirate. Like the Society and Maxwell Lord and all the rest.

He would use it all to get what he was owed: a perfect Earth.

No matter the cost.

And he would succeed. This he was certain of. True, there were blips on his radar that he hadn't foreseen, but even he couldn't predict everything. They were just a few bumps on his road.

He waved his hand, calling up a myriad of screens of Earth-1, as all his labors shook the planet and brought disaster to it, and the so called heroes tried their best to stop them and save people.

Who did they think they were kidding?

Time for the next step, as Alex cast away the viewscreens and opened another…never noticing the one that showed Noel driving like a maniac through Gotham before it disappeared. Indeed, Noel Collins was so far off Alex's mind in importance that he probably wouldn't have noticed if Noel had been waving a big sign saying "HEY ALEX, I KNOW YOUR SECRETS! SORTA!"

Of course, such a thing could very well prove irrelevant…

* * *

Noel really wasn't surprised he found it, but he was outraged anyway, as he stomped on the brakes. The street was in chaos, as people took advantage of the troubles of the world to serve their primary interest: themselves.

"HEY!" Savior yelled as he jumped on the car to get the attention of the looters. "Stop it! For once, just ONCE, can't you face a disaster with your better sides rather then immediately giving in to…"

That was as far as Noel got, as the crowd drowned him out with their own yells of outrage as they pelted him with debris. Noel growled and formed a shield. They were yelling about the Maxwell Lord video, of course, and how he had no right to tell them what to do. Though he didn't know it, Wonder Woman had faced a similar situation, and gotten the same reaction.

"Oh, THAT'S the way it's going to be, huh?" Savior yelled over the crowd. "We save your lives over and over, but the second some video without the proper context pops up, you think it was all a front! That we're only out for ourselves! Well believe me you goddamn hypocrites, if we ever decide to act only for ourselves, you BETTER PRAY…"

A Molotov cocktail flew through the air, catching Noel by surprise as it burst on one Shimmer shield and sprayed flaming gasoline at him. Savior jerked away, trying to avoid it, and then a gunshot slammed into the hood of the car. He couldn't stay here: he was far too exposed, and though he hated to leave the car he had no choice, as he retreated to the rooftops. The mob fell on it, tearing it apart. Noel grimaced again: damn it, that had been a gift, and it was such a nice car.

"Lousy ungrateful pieces of garbage." Savior seethed. "Such magnificence in their design, so much time to perfect it, and yet test it and they revert right down to pigs groveling in the mud. Why do I put up with it?"

"Because you can see through your own darkness to know it's the right thing."

Savior jerked as Raven emerged from the shadows near him.

"Raven! What the hell did you do?"

"I warped."

"You what? Raven, you…"

"At the moment I am feeling fine. I figured that it would be the best time to retrieve you. Bludhaven still needs help."

"…Of course." Savior said, even as he glanced down at the mob. "…Raven, why can't they do more? Why do they just have to offer more supposed evidence that this is all hopeless? Why is it that when we need them to stand, all they do is seek a dark corner to act on their basest impulses? Why is it always us who have to do the work?"

"You know there's no real answer to that Noel, and if you try and find one you'll drive yourself to distraction. We have to act the best we can, and hope others rise to the occasion. And even if they don't, we can't change them."

"Sometimes I wonder if that would be for the best." Noel muttered, and then walked over. "But we don't have the time to debate it. Let's get back to Bludhaven while we're still able."

Famous last words.

* * *

The war between Supermen continued, even as a mighty Amazon sought to end it…

And out in space, Cyborg wondered just what he was accomplishing. He had joined this mission, along with his teammate Starfire and other heroes, lead by the recently returned Donna Troy, to supposedly keep the peace between two hostile alien nations and deal with a strange rift in space that was sending out destructive energy waves, but half the time Cyborg didn't know what he was doing, which was not a good thing, people were DYING. The hero called Air Wave had mysteriously 'spontaneously combusted', something had happened to the matter controller Firestorm, though Cyborg wasn't sure on the details (he was still here, empowered, and fighting though, so hopefully…), and in an attempt to hold back the power of the rift the heroine known as Jade had died.

And then there was that giant pair of hands that had emerged from the rift, briefly causing chaos before withdrawing. What the hell was with that?

Well, whatever was going on, it seemed to be getting organized, and it looked like Kyle Raynor (had he gotten a makeover mid battle? Weird) was in the lead. For the sake of feeling like he was doing something, Cyborg would follow.

He hoped his teammates back on Earth were all right…

A golden lasso tried to end a fight, and while it stopped the blows, it did not stop the words.

"_You had the opportunity to make this Earth into the perfect world it had the potential to be and you **wasted** it! That's why I had to come here. That's why my Lois died!"_

"_To bring back YOUR perfect Earth?"_

Until the right words were finally set to make it clear.

_"If you're from this Earth, it can't be perfect. Because a perfect Earth doesn't need a Superman."_

And in those words…realization.

But too late.

* * *

"Power Girl from Earth-2." The Psycho-Pirate said, looking at the men and women sealed in the side of Alexander's golden tower, build from the remains of the Anti-Monitor and his focus rod for his plans. "Nightshade from Earth-4. Lady Quark from Earth-6…" The Psycho-Pirate trailed off as he came across an unfamiliar face. "But what about this one?"

"Breach. The Captain Atom of Earth-8." Alexander said, and cut Psycho-Pirate off before he could make the obvious question. "An Earth that, if the Multiverse had continued to exist, would have been home to Kyle Rayner, Helena Bertinelli, and Jason Rusch." Alex said, naming the fifth Green Lantern, the Huntress, and the latest Firestorm.

A Superman, still in shock from his realization, begins to move… 

"The men and women plugged into the tower will help me reform the **_core_** Earths." Alexander said, as he floated up to his center of power, crackling in the mouth of the Anti-Monitor's discarded armor, purplish-red power erupting from his body. "But I need the rest of the Multiverse back as well. I need **_thousands_** and **_thousands_** of worlds. Worlds I can sift through like sand, one grain at a time, combing and mixing until I find it. Until I find the **_perfect Earth._**"

* * *

And out in space…

"Uh…Professor Stein?" The hero known as Firestorm said to his, quite literal, inner voice. "Those hands are back."

Indeed, the gigantic pair of hands was emerging from the rift again, Alexander's hands, his warping of time and space apparent in the size difference.

"What should we do?" Firestorm said.

"Follow us, Firestorm." The Red Tornado said as he flew past. "Kyle Raynor has an idea."

Not quick enough.

* * *

"Brother Eye! Prepare to receive and redirect." Alexander ordered.

**SYSTEMS READY. VIBRATIONAL FREQUENCIES CATEGORIZED AND PROCESSING.**

"I still don't understand!" The Psycho-Pirate called. "Why go to all the trouble of hiding your actions from Superman? Although I love a good masquerade, why play it for so long?"

_An elderly hero, looking over the body of his lost love…_

"I needed him alive." Alex replied.

_As he spoke one word._

_"Alex."_

"The Superman of Earth-2 is the **_key_** to the return of the rest of the multiverse." Alex said, as he felt the power course within him, as he prepared to bring it to bear. "For some reason I can't explain or understand, and probably never will…"

The power shot from Alex, into the heavens, striking the satellite of Brother Eye.

**PROGRAM EARTH SPAWN ACTIVATED. REDIRECTING FUEL FROM EARTH-1 TO EARTH-2. TARGET SUBJECT FOUND AND LOCKED.**

"…**_EVERYTHING_** comes from Superman." Alexander Luthor finished, as the power shot down.

And why wouldn't it?

He was the very first. He created the entire genre. He was the original.

He is the key.

As the power struck him.

"**_ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_** Kal-L bellowed, as the power surged through him, and he fragmented, one becoming many, as he became every aspect of himself he ever could have been, some seen, many never, so many possibilities, all realized…

As the two Earths followed suit.

* * *

A great crisis had made one Earth two.

And now it made it many once more.

One for every star in the sky, and beyond.

All existing together.

* * *

"AIIIIIIIIIIUUUUAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Raven screamed in the darkness of mid-teleport, as Noel felt her body go as rigid as steel, as the sheer shock and backlash of Alex Luthor's rebirth slammed through all fields, tearing through Raven like a wrecking ball, as she began to lose her concentration, to dissipate before she had finished, causing her and Noel to scatter and become nothing, and she couldn't let it happen but it hurt so much she had to get back anywhere anyway…

And all Noel could do was hold onto her and keep the faith, as Raven tried to use the immense surge in power that came with the distortion to her advantage but it was…

Black. All was black.

* * *

**_BOOM. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…_**

"**_What the hell was that!"_**

"**_It sure didn't sound good!"_**

"**_HOLY…!"_**

"**_X'hal."_**

"…**_WALT! START IT! QUICKLY! WE CAN'T WASTE ANY TIME! WE HAVE TO GO! GO! GO!"_**

"**_Starting!"_**

"**_All right everyone, we only get one crack at this, so don't let me down! GO!"_**

_**And even as outside a city began to vanish, the abuse of time having altered its existence, a group focused their powers to escape and try and stop it…**_

"**_Walt come on!"_**

"…**_I'm sorry guys. I have to make sure everything goes smoothly here. Besides, I'd be no use there. Just go."_**

"**_But…"_**

"**_I know you'll succeed. So no goodbyes. Just…see you later."_**

"**_Walt…"_**

_**And black. All was black.**_

**_Except for one, as he gazed at a laboratory that was collapsing around him, and wondered why he was so strangely calm.

* * *

_**

Earth-1.

Where did the time go? It was supposed to slow down in the bad times. Then again, maybe that was just another side effect of it all.

"…repeat, this is Nightwing…" Nightwing said into the communicator. In all the chaos, in the rescues and the actions and whatnot, he'd somehow ended up in the place where it all really began for him: Titans Tower.

"Everyone's gathering at the Tower…"

Nightwing's speech was abruptly interrupted as a figure suddenly ran into the room, causing him to start.

"…Dick?" Noel said, cradling the body of Raven. "How…never mind. Help me. She's dying."

* * *

Chicago.

"Did you hear that? Over the communicator…" Geo-Force said, as he and other heroes fought to contain a devastating earthquake.

"We'll respond with the others as soon as we get these people to safety!" Replied Katana.

* * *

In another world, Dick was not interrupted. This is not that world.

"Someone went wrong as she was warping us. We nearly got lost in mid-motion, as it were…Raven has an artifact here, in her room, it serves as a beacon just in case…but to make it all the way from there to here, her max range is only about a hundred miles, she tried to ride the surge…but I think that just added to it…we made it, came out in her room, but she collapsed, I can't get a rise out of here even with my powers…" Noel babbled, a very rare occurrence, and one Dick stopped by putting a finger up. They were in the Titans' med-room, Raven on a bed, as Dick tried to do what he could to help…which wasn't much.

"…She's burning up, but her pulse seems strong enough. Lungs are clear, right?" Nightwing asked.

"Yeah…"

"Look Noel, I hate to sound heartless, but I can't focus on this. I need to get in touch with people. She probably just wore herself out. And if she is dying, it isn't something I can do." Nightwing said, as he got up. "But I think it looks good, all things considered. The rest is up to her."

"…Of course. Go. We interrupted you." Savior said, and Nightwing hurried from the room. He hated to leave a teammate down, especially a Titan…but he had to focus on the here and now, not the mystical mumbo-jumbo he knew little about.

"Raven…" Savior said, as he sat down next to her, smoothing her hair. He took his pulse himself, and it was firm enough. He hadn't found any nerve or brain damage in his own scans, so…

He gave her something to help with the fever and kissed her forehead, and then left the room, hoping and praying that it wasn't the last time he saw her.

* * *

"Everyone, repeat, this is Nightwing." Dick said into the communicator, starting over. "To all who hear this. Everyone's gathering at the Tower. We're going to take on those responsible for threatening our home **_together._**"

* * *

New York. Sadly, there, Dick's request went underheard.

"Down there!" Mary Marvel called, pointing, as flood waters swept the city.

"I see them Mary!" Firehawk replied, as she swooped in with Captain Marvel Jr.

"Don't worry folks, everything'll going to be all…" Captain Marvel Jr began.

And then, much to Firehawk's shock, he vanished. As did Mary Marvel.

After all, their old home, Earth-S was back in business.

* * *

"This is our last stand." Nightwing went on.

* * *

Bludhaven.

"I can't do this…I can't do this…I can't do this…" Argent whimpered into the arms of Bumblebee, the stress having finally taken its toll.

"We need more ambulances Robin!" Speedy III called.

"Communications are down throughout the city. We have to make do with what we've got." Robin replied: the battle to save Bludhaven was still on.

And Tim had long since lost his communicator.

* * *

"…This is it." Nightwing finished, as he looked up.

At the empty room, no one in it but him.

"…This is it…" He whispered to the room, and then put his hand on his forehead.

Just for a brief moment, he flirted with despair.

Noel ran into the room, catching Nightwing in the act, so to speak. He was just about to ask what was wrong.

He never got to.

**_KRRRRRRRRSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_**

The shockwave was so strong it shattered every window in Titan Tower and nearly threw Savior on the ground, Nightwing's years as an acrobat giving him better balance as he whirled around, looking at the broken windows. Savior ran to his side, looking out to see what was going on.

He saw nothing, when he looked down…left…right…up…

Nightwing wasn't at the right angle to see Savior's jaw drop to the ground and his eyes dilute to pinpricks…and then Savior was gone, as he went out the window and yanked himself up the Tower side.

"Hey! What the…!" Nightwing yelled, as he debated following, and then decided that since he didn't have a grappler as versatile as Noel's Shimmer he'd just stick to the stairs, which he took three at a time.

He found Noel on the roof as he slammed out through the door…and stopped dead in his tracks, as shocked and as horrified as Noel.

The sky was filled with Earths. You could barely see any space, the horizon was so thick with them.

Once, all these Earths had existed in parallel dimensions. At most, five had existed in the same small space.

There appeared to be thousands of them now, all filling the sky.

And they were dying.

Some were crumpling, shattering themselves in explosions beyond human capacity to measure, and others were crashing into each other, breaking themselves to bits, the sky filled with destruction on a scale beyond anything humanity had ever witnessed.

Worlds had lived once more, and now they were dying before the eyes of the Earth…and the two heroes on the rooftop. It was their destruction that had sent such waves of force that had rattled the tower.

"…My god." Was all Savior could say.

Nightwing blinked, as his mind tried to wrap itself around it all…and couldn't. So he didn't, as he turned and slapped Noel on the shoulder.

"I don't think he's involved. Come on. We have even less time then before."

"Hey, guys!" Came a voice from the sky, and then Superboy abruptly dropped down on the roof.

"Conner!…You're ok?" Savior asked, a bit surprised by Superboy's abrupt entrance: talk about dropping out of the sky.

"A day in the sun did me good. Now…what the hell's going on?" Superboy asked.

"The skies are filling up with parallel Earths." Nightwing replied.

"I can see that. How?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but it's got to be connected to that Superboy that attacked you. He's the one that blew up the Watchtower…"

"And kidnapped Martian Manhunter." Savior finished. "And you're right Dick. It is."

"I know Noel. I spoke to Batman. That Superboy…he was involved in some kind of plan to replace our Earth."

"Before the Flashes kicked his ass and disappeared." Superboy said, as sorrow crossed his features. "He kept telling me I was a failure."

"If it's any comfort, he knows two things. Jack and…" Savior began.

"He's not just talking about Conner. They're judging ALL of us." Nightwing said.

"You know who these psychos are, right?" Superboy asked.

"Yeah." Nightwing said.

"Yes." Savior echoed.

"Well…" Superboy said, as he reached into his pocket and took out a shining crystal. "I know **_where_** they are."

"…Uh, good." Savior said, as he kicked himself for not checking the memories to see if he had that knowledge.

"Everybody else inside?" Superboy asked.

"Only Raven, and she's ill. No use at the moment. Everybody else is trying to keep our Earth from falling apart." Nightwing said

"If it wasn't for a freak teleportation shift, I wouldn't be here either." Savior said.

"It's just us." Nightwing finished.

"Us? You mean you Dick…and just you, Noel?"

"Hey, wouldn't be a story if I wasn't around to Stu around with the proceedings."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"…So…just us….You gotta be kiddin' me."

"Yeah. The three Musketeers. One for all and all for one." Savior replied, clearly not happy with it either.

"What do you want to do?" Superboy asked Nightwing.

"What we have to." Nightwing replied. "Let's take these guys down."

"…What? You mean alone?" Savior said, as Nightwing started heading for the stairs again, and Superboy followed.

"Unless you want to back out." Nightwing replied.

"No! But…Nightwing, you clearly checked with Batman, but…do you know just who we're facing?"

"It doesn't matter." Nightwing said as the three of them headed down the stairs.

"Nightwing, believe me, it does."

"Just who ARE we facing?" Superboy asked, not in on all the info.

"Noel, would you?" Nightwing asked. "For both of us."

"Argh. Ok. Please note I am making none of this up…" Savior said, and proceeded to try and explain the whole Crisis in two minutes, as the three of them made it back into the main room and Nightwing headed for a bag. Apparently for some reason he wanted to change outfits.

"…I think I liked it better when I didn't know." Superboy said.

"So you see my hesitations." Savior said to Nightwing.

"Not really."

"Argh. Dick, this is madness. Alexander Luthor didn't draw this plan on a napkin an hour before showtime, and I didn't read HIS mind. I have no idea of the extent of the defenses he could muster." Savior said. "At the very least, he controls Brother Eye, who controls the OMAC's, who are specifically designed to terminate metahumans. A group of a few dozen nearly killed all of my fellow Titans and me. Alex could potentially send tens of THOUSANDS of them at us. At least. And let's not forget he masqueraded as Lex Luthor to the Society. Is that subterfuge over? Or could he potentially access the Society members and send them after us as well? How many could he send? A few? A third? Half? More? Worse, what if he sends BOTH? I am quite willing to die, Dick, but I'd rather not pointlessly die!"

"I know." Nightwing said. "But we're out of options. This, for now, is the best…"

"Titans…"

The low whisper caught the three's attention, and they turned to face the source.

Raven was in the doorway, leaning on one arm, her cloak down and her hair over her face, as she stumbled forward into the room.

"Raven!" Savior cried, running over and grabbing her. "What are you doing? You should be in bed!"

"No…Noel…"

"What?"

"…Not…flux…all…call…I…am the…doorway…all will…" Raven babbled, as Noel stared helplessly at the woman he loved, not knowing what to do.

Then he felt her whole body grow rigid again.

And then she threw back her head and screamed, and she was utterly enveloped in darkness, darkness that hurled Noel away and made Superboy and Nightwing recoil violently, as Raven continued to shriek in the pitch black shadows, which surged out and clustered in the room like it was a living thing.

"RAVEN!" Noel shrieked.

And then the scream cut off, abruptly. Noel's heart plunged to roughly the level of the outer core of the Earth.

And then she emerged from the shadows and fell into his arms.

"Raven!" Savior said.

"…It's…ok…done…they…done…" Raven whispered, her forehead beaded with sweat. But she was no longer burning hot, and her eyes looked peaceful.

"Uhhhhhhh…" Superboy said, as he looked at the clustered darkness, still seething in the middle of the room. "Dick?"

"You guess is as good as mine." Nightwing replied, staring at the darkness.

Which abruptly spoke.

"Whoa, he's a hottie here."

"You still say hottie? Do you have any idea how shallow that sounds?"

"Does it matter? Did we make it? Are we alive?"

"Wow Conner, you didn't change much…" Said a female voice, as Superboy's eyes widened. He did not recognize the voice. Nor did anyone in the room.

"We made it. It worked. It's so great to have a mother whose body also functions as a dimensional gateway…" Came another female voice, as the shadows began to fade.

Noel stared, as the darkness stripped away, revealing a cluster of bodies, as if they'd rode the shadows out of Noel and into this room.

There were ten of them. Seven males, three females, of all shapes, sizes, and costumes…as a green energy field flowed back from where it had apparently served as a force field to keep it steady, back into the ring, a Green Lantern ring, of a girl in her late teens, dressed in green and white, a long white coat trailing down on her feet, and her full head of red hair done up in a complicated Mohawk esque style, as she smiled and looked down on the crouching Noel and Raven.

"Hi Dad!" She announced.

Had DC been an anime, Nightwing and Superboy would have facevaulted. They settled for looking surprised. Noel just looked stunned.

"Wh-WHAT?" He stammered. "Who the hell are you?"

"What, the costume isn't obvious?" Kyra Collins said. "We're the Teen Titans!"

_Time is on your side._


	5. Part 3: Titans Tommorow

Part 3: Titans Tomorrow

_One of the questions I get the most are questions about God. Some think I can answer them because my name is Savior (maybe a poor choice in retrospect, but at the time it struck me deeply as a choice for my life: I could be a savior, of people's lives, physical well being, mental health, and contentment anyway. I never said I'd save their souls. Hell, do I have any right to? Shouldn't that be their own job?), some because I'm a hero, and some because some people know my real viewpoints on religion and faith (and often misunderstand my viewpoint that the latter doesn't need the former, because the former, much like politics, is infinitely abusable). Unlike some people, I am quite honest in the fact I can give them no great knowledge or truths, only my own viewpoints and opinions._

_Why am I talking about this? Now?_

_Well, when you're raised in a society with as many religions as I am, inevitably bits and pieces will creep into your sense of self. I've probably said more then a few words and phrases that had God in it, and cursed more then a few people by saying they were going to the realm of his opposite. It's inevitable, sort of how words can creep into other languages. Or how aspects of religions can creep into others, which is why Easter is celebrated both as the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (in theory) and with a rabbit handing out candy and eggs._

_I say in theory because I have no real opinion. Does God exist? Maybe. Is he/she/it (we will call it he for convenience) kind and loving, or cruel and filled with wrath? Or somewhere in between? I can't tell you._

_Not many can in this world. Maybe if this was a world without superheroes, without metahumans and magicians and mutants and monsters, I could give you a more concise answer. But in this world, the question of there being a God (and to keep this from going on forever we will be speaking of the Christian depiction of God, and not getting into the other religions such as Jewish and Islamic and Hindi and Buddhism, not to mention all the offshoots and cults that have sprung up around them. Don't even get me started on the Mormons. If the belief makes you happy and content, that's great, but a belief that includes so-called 'magic underwear' really prompts me to raise my eyebrows rather then find spiritual fulfillment) becomes so muddled that it almost seems irrelevant. God is supposedly more then man, capable of knowing and doing anything. I could name a dozen men, women, and beings off the top of my head that fit that criteria. Kind and just? We have Superman. Cruel and wrathful? Darkseid, or say, Imperiex. Not to mention that the deities that Greek and Norse and African religion have been revealed, in a lot of cases, to exist in some aspects. Wonder Woman is (or was, it seems) empowered by the Greek Gods. Can you really fit the notions of what God is, a central God, above all else, in this world we live in, that I was born into, that I exist in? The Spectre is truly mighty, but does that mean he really is God's spirit of vengeance? Power speaks for itself: the rest can all be icing. Or lies._

_As, but you may say, it is all about belief. God is faith._

_That's fine, but faith is a double-edged sword. Someone once argued that you should believe in God, and if you die and are wrong you've lost nothing and if you die and are right you've gained everything. Maybe…but faith, and religion, always requires more then just saying "I believe." And in a world where science is slowly revealing the secrets that once drove man to create (or maybe recognize) their gods, such a thing can be hard to grasp. Should I pray to, give thanks, and worship something that may not be there at all? Perhaps I should just worship the sun. After all, I can see the sun._

_Ah, but therein lies the key to faith: it supposedly shows you how to live a better life. It is not all abasing: it is finding happiness._

_At least, that's the supposed intention._

_Reality, well…let's not get into that._

_Does God exist? I don't know._

_But sometimes, even I, kind of wonder and wish I could find that faith. Not the blind, destructive faith of a zealot, which is far more about that person's wants and needs then the words of a benevolent deity. Nor the terrified faith of the beaten down, the words crammed into their head through intimidation and fear, who do not believe but tolerate for the supposed sake of their souls. I sometimes wish for the rarest kind of faith, of one who has found his place in the world and understands it, is happy with it, and through that invokes a kind of knowledgeable peace._

_I doubt I'd find it in religion. If I have any God, it is perception. The power to do things beyond your ken, not because of any great power gifted to you but because you believe you can._

_It's that that lets mothers lift cars that their children are trapped under._

_It's that that keeps Superman from being crushed under the weight of his own responsibility, of knowing he has so much power and yet can only do so much with it._

_And it's that that keeps me going, for all the horrors I've seen, for all the sins and weaknesses of humanity, and for all the times I've seemingly been told that my battle is a lost cause, that human beings are locked onto an inescapable slippery slope to destruction and damnation, and to try and reverse it is a fool's errand that will only bring me suffering and misery: because I don't believe that's true._

_Maybe there is a God, but from our history, it's clear we have to often go it alone._

_So maybe God is good. God is loving. God is cruel. God is dead. And all that. I hear that a group of heroes were having a mass that honored those lost in this Crisis. So I'm probably not the only one pondering questions about God._

_So what's my answer now? _

_For this I turn not to any scriptures or religious texts but a quote from Harry Emerson Fosdick._

"_God is not a cosmic bellboy for whom we can press a button to get the job done."_

_We have to do the job._

_So I will leave the thought at that._

_Though I will say one thing in closing._

_Some may say God exists in the miracle I see before me: a grown daughter, and her friends, come to help._

_Still…all the same…, I wish God had included some indication they were coming._

_Still, we need all the help we can get. Things can't get much worse._

_If they do, it may yet believe me to change my viewpoints. If only because a higher power can set it all right._

_Until then, we have to try.

* * *

_

In the strange nature of thoughts, what seems longer to others can pass in a blink of an eye to the thinker, as Noel stared at the young woman who had come from the shadows which had erupted from Raven's form, a woman who said she was a Titan, a woman who had called him…

Savior put himself between Raven as he formed a few Shimmer blades. Kyra didn't look surprised.

"Thinking the worst immediately, even at my age. I'm not really surprised Dad." Kyra said, as she slowly raised her hands in a gesture of peace. "I'm sorry for the abrupt entrance and the rather unpleasant manner of it, but it was the only way. But I swear, we're not some kind of trick, or disguise, or infiltration tactic, or anything in that vein. We're on your side, Noel Collins. I swear."

"He's not the only one who's a tad bit suspicious." Nightwing said, as Kyra looked at him. To his surprise, she smiled slightly.

"Your name is Richard Grayson. You were the first Robin to Batman, whose name I know but will not repeat out of respect. And since anyone could recite facts about your life, I will simply recite a few things I have heard about you. Somehow you always got more ass then a toilet seat, Batman held you in such high regard he picked you to lead a substitute version of the Justice League, you shouldn't feel guilt over what happened to Roland Desmond, and you got your name from a story Superman told you. I know all this because as you might have guessed from what I called Whitey there, I am from the future. I always heard you were an amazing judge of character, Dick. It's one of the many things that made you a legend in my time." Kyra said. "I will leave my character and those of my friends to you to judge, but I remind you we are most likely existing on borrowed time."

Nightwing blinked.

"By the way, what's with the old outfit? We used to make fun of that. At least you didn't bring back the Elvis collar." Kyra added.

Much to his surprise, Nightwing found himself chuckling.

"Hey, no one complained at the time." He replied, despite the seriousness of the situation and the mood he had been in moments ago.

"Dick, careful. Just because she knows a few facts doesn't mean…" Noel started.

"Oh man, you really were always looking for the supposed catch, weren't you? Even after someone who WAS trained by Batman decides we aren't so bad!" Kyra said.

"In clarification I haven't said anything…" Nightwing said.

"Yeah, but you've clearly lowered your guard. I can read it in your body language." Kyra said. "Look Noel, DAD, I know this is probably a lot to digest, but look at me! Look! I have your frikkin' eyes!"

Noel didn't say anything. Kyra glared back.

And then Raven spoke.

"It's ok…she speaks the truth…" Raven whispered, and everyone looked at her. "Noel…it's true. Her words are truth…and more…because I've seen her."

Kyra saw her father's expression and snickered to herself.

"Mom always was the only one who could shut him up."

* * *

On one level, it was easy enough for Noel to grasp. He'd seen plenty of reality muckery, especially after what he'd learned about Superboy-Prime and his magic crystal wall punches, and he could wrap his head around a group of Titans from the future popping back into his time to help. With the way time and space were falling apart, the impact was probably being felt in the past and the future as well. It stood to reason some could had traveled back to try and find the source of the disturbance. All the Earths appearing in the sky probably had something to do with it. 

But…one was his daughter…with Raven…for some reason Noel just couldn't quite grasp the concept, even after Raven told him. About her time in Slade's Chromoton Destabalizer, how she had seen Kyra's future, how she'd known…And it was the fact she was telling him for the first time, it seemed, that bothered Noel. Had she not thought it important enough? Or had she actually told him, only to find reality and its abusers robbing him of the info?

He would have liked to have spoken to her, but as soon as Kyra had won over Dick she had immediately begun speaking to him, deferring to him as a subordinate despite the fact that with a Green Lantern ring (his daughter had become part of the Corps?) she could annihilate him with a thought. She was clearly giving him information about her part of the situation so he could adjust his choice of tactics if he so chose. Some of the 'Titans Tomorrow' stayed with her, while others had moved around the room: apparently she had asked them to be quiet at first while she did the introductions, and now they were 'dismissed'. Not knowing what else to do, Savior had gone to a couch against the wall and propped Raven up, helping her as best he could, even though she protested that she was fine, just tired.

"Hey there Noel."

Savior turned to find himself looking at…well he wasn't sure. He definitely wasn't a teenager, he had to be at least 30. He wore simple black pants and a skintight semi-muscle shirt with grooves on the shoulders outlined in gold, the collar of the shirt also outlined in the same color. He had black hair an inch or so under shoulder length, hair that was also shot through with golden streaks, and a small closely cut goatee on his chin (with no gold hair there). His eyes were also a strange, unnatural color of gold, which was probably his defining factor.

"Same stuff, different day huh? I tell you, around you, your kids, whatever, you always did keep my life interesting." The black wearing adult said, as if he and Noel were old friends. "And by interesting I mean so overloaded with trouble half the time I want to strangle you. But I never did, did I?" The man said.

"…Do I know you?" Savior replied.

The man's face fell…and then it actually got angry.

"What? How…I mean…dammit Collins! You tortured me! You locked me in freezers! You made me want to die daily, and on top of that you kept calling me worthless! And you always made fun of my hair when it was long! You gave Gunnery Sergeant Hanson a run for his money! How could YOU NOT…!"

"Adam!" Kyra called, and the newly named (to Noel, anyway) Adam turned his head. "Remember what I said! Reality as we know it isn't working!"

"Oh yeah right." Adam said. "Sorry Noel."

"…You know me?"

"Somewhere. I was on the team. A Titan. You trained me like you hated me. Took me a few years to understand the breaking down and building up part. But that was apparently somewhere else with someone else. Hell, when this is over with my luck I'll probably cease to exist." Adam said, and then extended his hand. "I'm Adam Matthews. Metatron."

"…You named yourself after the highest caste of angel?"

"Pot, this is kettle calling. You're black."

"Point well taken."

"The ironic thing is, I'm a demon." Metatron said, and grinned. Noel blinked.

"Try not to look too surprised. We all know you in one form or another…"

"Indeed." Said a newcomer, who also looked to be in his 30's. He wore an outfit that was mostly black, shot through with green, and which appeared to be some kind of futuristic armor. A black sphere glittered in his chestplate, glowing with a strange purple glow that helped it stand out, while four others spheres were embedded in his gauntlets. He wore black goggles and had backwards pointing spiky black hair, much like Metatron (the hair color not the design), albeit with no golden streaks, and like him was fairly good looking. "I don't know if you remember me, but just in case, I'd like to apologize, Oz, for all the trouble I caused and have yet to cause you."

"…What?"

"You don't remember me either? After what happened?"

"No!…And Oz? That was my HIVE cover name."

"Among other things." The green teen said. "I guess this is more reality going to pieces. Believe me, I'm familiar with it."

"He helped on the trip. Probably made it easier on Raven." Metatron said.

"I'm Ragnarok. Collin Roberts. Even if you don't know me Oz, Noel, whatever, I'll do what I can to help. If only so I can get home." Ragnarok said. "Oh yes, and while I'm here…the reason I came over was because I'm not the only one from 'my world' who ended up 'here', wherever here is, exactly. I have a friend, Yin, over there…" Ragnarok said, pointing to yet another adult across the room. He also had spiky hair, but it was closer to Robert's than his own, a typical Germanic-looking blond, which contrasted oddly with his very dark, certainly foreign skin tone and features. The contrast was emphasized by his turquoise eyes, causing him to look much more like a Super Saiyan than Noel ever did. He wore a fairly standard looking hero suit, rather then Noel's outfit of jeans, shirt, and jacket (though Noel's clothing was really disguised armor), colored black and white. There was a symbol on the chest that Noel couldn't make out. "On my team…well, he got together with Raven. And he's been with her a while. And even though things aren't the same here, he's worried about her. Mind if I give him a heads up?"

"I'm fine…" Raven said. "Just drained…" Even so, she actually gave Yin a weak thumbs up, like she dealt with alternate universe/timeline/existence boyfriends everyday. Yin grinned and then moved across the room…without moving his feet: apparently his power was stretching and malleability like the Elongated Man, to talk to some of the others.

"…Hmmmm." Savior said, his brain finally adjusting to take it in stride. "Yin as in Yin/Yang. Good to know someone here has a bit more humble codename. Savior, Metatron, and Ragnarok, the Norse apocalypse. I hope whatever powers you have back up the names."

"I'm no slouch, even if I don't have a bunch of magical doodads." Metatron said, indicating Ragnarok.

"Well Adam, your powers are natural…mine are…well, all due to the armor and these, the Catalysts." Ragnarok said. "They're Tamaranian artifacts, I've found them throughout my life. The armor lets me use them, and also grants me geokinetic abilities. The Terra in my world…she went through some changes, so I wasn't redundant." Ragnarok said. "Normally I only use one or two at most, it's dangerous to use more, power corrupts…but this is a dire emergency, here and where I lived, and before I…arrived I had equipped myself with the five most powerful of the seven Catalysts. With them all I wield considerable might…though even I am probably not the most powerful member of the team…" Ragnarok said, as he trailed off…

And Noel suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick up, as a very faint and very deep sense of dread came over him, like he was recognizing something bad on a primal level.

"Is she ok?"

Savior turned to look at the new speaker (he was doing that a lot), a female. One that looked familiar. Unlike the others, she wasn't thin or muscular in a streamlined way, she was actually fairly large, with some fat mixed in with her muscle. A body type Noel recognized. She wore a long robe/cloak outfit that pooled around her feet…and she also had gray skin. And long blue hair that was black at the tips. And long ears. And four thin fingers covered in metal.

Noel didn't need to be a rocket scientist.

"Nigel's daughter, I assume?" Noel asked, even as the feeling of dread didn't go away, though he wasn't sure why.

"Yes. There are a few descendants on the team…I'm Mary." Mary Hastings said. "I just wanted to apologize to you, Mr. Collins, and your wi…your significant other. I didn't want to hurt her…but this was the only way I could think of to get us here after all that's happened."

"…Well, um…I suppose…" Noel said, still trying to figure out why he was so apprehensive. It was apparently readable on his way, as Mary looked slightly dismayed.

And then Raven groaned lightly.

"…Risky…choice, young lady…" Raven said, holding her head.

"Raven? What's wrong?" Savior asked.

"She must be picking up my…power source. You are too, I can tell. No sense in lying…my mom's mutation changed in a freak way in me. Instead of bats, I could become a living shadow…well, one day your friend the Lord came back. He was as mighty and terrible as ever. But I was there, and your wi…your girlfriend had this artifact…I used it on him. The end result was his final destruction…because I took his powers."

Noel looked stunned.

"Told you he'd be surprised rather then angry at first. Pay up." Ragnarok said to Metatron, and the demon grudgingly handed over a few bills.

"You took…The Lord of the Night's…"

"Oh stuff it you bastard." Came yet ANOTHER new voice. This one belonged to the first teenage male that Noel had actually seen come over (as this was the TEEN Titans and the first three were adults), a tall wirey kid with long curly blonde hair, a very simple blue, red, and gold costume, and a handsome face screwed up in disgust as he suddenly popped in next to Mary. "It's all she heard from you. It's the Lord, he'll corrupt her and use her, the power isn't hers, it's a trick, cage her, hurt her, kill her, for the greater good, SHUT UP!" The older teen snapped angrily as Noel tried to get a word in.

"EJ it's ok…" Mary said in a half whisper.

"No it's not! It wasn't there and it won't be here! Just stuff it! It never corrupted her, because she's more of a hero then you ever were! So just keep your mouth shut, or I'll shut it FOR you, you bastard." 'EJ' snapped, and walked off with Mary.

"…Ok." Savior said. "Well, never expected to be popular…" Noel said, as he tried to place where he had seen EJ: he also looked familiar.

Then he realized the teenager had had something in his hand: a spark of light reflecting off it had caught Noel's attention briefly. A gem in the hand. One Noel knew all too well, because he'd seen it up close less then 24 hours ago.

"…Wait a minute." Noel said. "Do you know him?"

"I do now." Metatron said.

"So wait…is that…?"

"Elijah Versaw's son. And Nigel's daughter. Yeah, a real Romeo and Juliet situation. From what you told me, their fathers never stopped hating each other. But EJ got his mom's gem after she got too old to use it, and until it abruptly disappeared he also inherited his dad's connection to the Speed Force, so no one could really tell him what to do. Even with the Speed Force gone, he's still got more then enough power to do it."

Noel watched the couple walk off, and then rolled his eyes at the strangeness of it all, leaning back on the couch…and spying what appeared to be Jinx nearby. Except she was older. And wearing her hair loose. And instead of wearing a pink and black dress she was wearing a skintight black outfit with a dark violet waist length cape and a pink H on the sternum (and he noticed Metatron had a large M sketched onto the back of his outfit). And she had a diagonal scar on her left cheek.

Probably not the Jinx he knew. But the way things were going…

"I assume you know me from somewhere too?" Noel asked.

'Jinx's' only response was to shoot a glare so wrathful and angry at Noel that if looks could kill Noel's body would be blackened bones, and then she stalked off.

"Don't mind Hex. Like me, she seems to have history with another you somewhere…and from what I gathered, all of it is very very bad." Ragnarok said.

Savior sighed. Maybe he should rethink his life and how he treated people.

If he ever got the chance.

* * *

Kyra hadn't been idle during her dad's meetings with 'not-so-old-friends': she'd been carefully laying out details to Dick, like her trainers at the Corps had taught her when it came to using the ring. She wished she could speak to her dad, but she knew Dick and she knew her dad's words and opinions about him, and she knew she only had so much time, so she'd better speak with the one who could use it the best. 

"I'll be as brief as I can, you look like you're ready to go." She had begun.

"I am." Nightwing replied.

"Ok. As I said, we're from the future. However, not all of us are from the SAME future. How we ended up together, even I'm not wholly sure. But you probably have some guesses."

"A few."

"Ok. I am the leader of the Titans in the future, or a future…I'm Noel and Raven's daughter. Kyra. Some call me Myth, I prefer Kyra. This big guy behind me is Brick Wall…" Kyra said, pointing. Brick nodded. "Over there is Nightmare, Nigel's daughter, and near her is Donar Magnison. He's the grandson of Thor, the actual Norse god, if you can believe that, hence the hammer."

"Mjolnir?" Nightwing said, glancing over at the blonde teen.

"Yeah I know, wrong comic book company. The four of us are pretty much the only 'original' Titans left. To shore up our ranks, Mary brought in her boyfriend, he goes by the oh-so-humble name of Omnipotent…before the Speed Force abruptly vanished, that was a big surprise…and we recently got an old acquaintance of ours in the fold. Scorched Earth." Kyra said, pointing to a somewhat thin teenage boy off to the side…except this boy had light orange skin and deep red hair. And he looked familiar. And his outfit…looked like the combination of two other familiar outfits.

"Yeah. Long story, no time. Until recently, he was on the other side, through no real fault of his own, he was just making baby steps on the other when this started happening. There were others but…well, I may as well start from the beginning. It explains the remaining four who are currently talking with my dad."

"Other Earths?" Nightwing asked.

"Possibly. The day this started, about a week ago, we woke up, it was a normal day…except Viridian, our Tower's caretaker, said something was wrong. She couldn't say just what, her sensors just told her something was wrong. So we spent the whole day tearing the Tower apart, trying to figure out just what was on the fritz, or if someone was trying to spy on us or something…it took us until late evening after we'd gone over the Tower and the island with a fine tooth comb to figure out just what had happened. The Tower had been moved five feet to the left."

Had the situation been less serious, Nightwing might have chuckled again.

"Yeah, it was weird, but harmless, but we were so busy that day we weren't paying attention to our city, didn't find out until the next day that a rash of disappearances had been reported…and as we found out, in some cases this wasn't a case of people leaving the sight of others and not returning. This was a case of people LITERALLY disappearing, into thin air…"

And then another massive shockwave shook the Tower, rattling everyone.

"Argh. Conner?" Nightwing asked, as he looked over to where the Teen of Steel had been standing by the window, hanging onto a frame.

"Another Earth…just went…" Superboy replied.

"I figured. Those other dimensional Earths may look pretty, but they're not stable." Nightwing said.

"…What about OUR Earth? Is that going to happen to us too?" Superboy asked.

"Well, one of my Catalysts can affect reality…it would probably give us some kinds of heads up. I'll keep an eye on it." Ragnarok said.

"You do that. You were saying?"

"People were vanishing. In front of others. Just poof, there were gone. And that wasn't the worst. There were also a handful of strange reports that people were…changing."

"Changing?"

"Like the disappearances. Just blink, and suddenly they were different. Oh sure, some were kind of funny. Their hair changed, or their shoes. Others…their skin color changed. Or their sex. Or as we saw later, their…personalities. It was like people were in flux." Kyra said. "We were trying to figure out what was going on…and then it affected us. We were eating breakfast, and then Ragnarok and Yin, those two guys there…they just popped into existence at our table. Fortunately, into empty chairs."

"I didn't know what happened." Ragnarok said as he popped up again, this time next to Kyra. "The team of Titans I knew, we were just eating and…suddenly I was there."

"Needless to say, it ruined our morning. And it just got worse. We spent the first hours of that day trying to figure each other out. We eventually determined that were actually teens during 'this time' and hence popped into our lives as adults in 'our time', hence the age gap. Bust as we're sorting everything out…like I said, we're what's left of my team. There were other members…one was called Sierra. Razzle Dazzle. She just…vanished. Right in front of us. And what the reports neglected to say was she wasn't just gone in a puff of smoke. She…faded, like she was film being exposed to sunlight. And whatever caused it…it wasn't pleasant. In fact, she screamed the whole time. It was horrible…we couldn't do a thing. And we tried."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. It got worse. The Llarenes Morath of my world, she'd retired, actually became an author, she was in town, we met her as we were trying to get all our loved ones and acquaintances in one place…we get to the hotel and we can't find her. Instead, we found her. Hex." Kyra said, indicating the version of Jinx who had been so virulent towards Noel. "She was in Llarenes' hotel room…and she had no idea how she got there, like Rag and Yin. She just…popped in. And apparently replaced our Jinx…and then…" Kyra said, and sighed. "Bliss Thompson, Viridian, she's been serving my family for years, she was helping us coordinate a peacekeeping effort in our panicking city, she was actually out with us…and then she changed too. What she became…was horrible. She suddenly became…I don't know. But she tried to kill us. She nearly succeeded. And we had to smash her. We had no choice. She was our friend…and then she just wasn't. She was a machine that said it was her duty to kill us. Just like that."

"I know the feeling." Nightwing said: he remembered a few betrayals in his time.

"After that we realized that something was really, really wrong, so we began trying to use our combined powers to try and figure out what…and two more things happened. One was we were suddenly contacted on our communicators by someone who was claiming to be a Titan and was asking us why the hell the city had become so shiny. That was Metatron, the last one we found…he popped in as well, so suddenly he wasn't even aware of it at first. And then…Mary's mom, she was at the tower…Sophie. She was such a kind woman, never wanted to harm a soul as long as they didn't try and harm her…she started disappearing too. But there was a…glitch or something. She got…'stuck' in mid-vanishing, like a record skipping…and we couldn't get her out of it. We couldn't help her, like with Sierra, and at least with Sierra we only had about fifteen seconds, no real time to do anything. Sophie…she was stuck like that for nearly four hours, in AGONY…and nothing we could do could stop it. No medicine, no use of our powers…nothing. We had to stand there and watch as she suffered, until it finally ended and she faded completely…after that we'd had enough."

"Our powers…" Mary said, as she popped up. "We managed to locate the nexus of the…disturbance." The alien went on, clearly trying to keep her heart cold and dead so she could focus, and not wholly succeeding. "It was here, in our past, your present. Had Bliss not…changed, we probably could have done most of the work with a machine, but she did, she was the mechanics genius, and hence we had to resort to alternate methods. In the end we made it, using a combination of our powers to use this time's Raven as a beacon…and we also brought everyone we could."

"Our best and brightest, to combat whatever's doing this, and God willing, maybe UNDO it." Kyra said. "We've managed to assemble a considerable amount of power. Maybe we have too many tankers, but we did what we could…when we left, we had to leave another one of us behind. Walt…he may have died as soon as we left. I'd rather go back and find out I'm wrong." Kyra said. "You started this team Dick. You were always the greatest of us. Lead us. We'll follow you to hell."

Nightwing was about to reply that they didn't have to do that, because he'd prefer if they followed him to victory.

And in the end, it didn't matter.

Because hell came to them.

* * *

A few minutes back… 

Conner had continued to stare out the window after the latest planetary destruction. He'd been doing that for a while. The sudden entrance of these so-called future Titans had affected him more deeply then he would have expected (if one could even expect such a thing)…because it reminded him of something.

A past adventure, in the future…two kinds. Far off…and not so far.

Of a time where everything he had thought to stand for was gone…including in him, and his friends. Where the Titans were the nightmare of the world, and he was one of the primary soldiers, one who had the gall to call himself Superman.

Maybe that's why the other Superboy's words had struck him so deeply. After all, he'd seen his future, and he was no hero. Maybe he was right…

"Um…Superboy, right?" Came a voice, and Conner looked to the side to see one of the future Titans at his side, well floating near his side anyway. He had orangish skin, much like Starfire's, come to think of it, and her hair…which was done in a pointy style Superboy had seen Tim wear and create time after time, seemingly without effort…and he was wearing a red shirt and pants, with purple/metal gauntlets and boots, some black added to the outfit to prevent an outright cloning of it…and even Conner had an idea of who this is.

"…Yeah." Superboy said, even as he remembered something. "Um…I don't mean to be rude…but I thought human/Tamaranian hybrids couldn't exist. That the fetuses might form, but the genetics codes wouldn't match and the fetus would be rejected from the body…"

"Yeah. I know. It's why I came over here. I saw you…you looked distressed, and if what I remember about you, I think I know why. I thought maybe…I could shed some light, since you're…younger here and all." The "Tamahumanian" said. "I'm Jackan'dr…Jack Andrew Drake in English. Named after my grandfather. My codename, though it shames me now, is Scorched Earth…and yes, human/Tamaranian hybrids aren't possible. At least where I come from. In my…life I learned that in other worlds…they can exist, naturally…I'd rather not speak of how, why and what I wanted to do with that information when I learned it…I'm over here because I think you're having a personal crisis."

"So's everything else."

"Yes. But I know about your DNA. Where it came from. What happened. And I know how much it affected you. Even to my day." Scorched Earth said. "Some people called it the 'Evil Genes' theory, pointing to children of rape and all that…well, Superboy, Conner, can I call you Conner?"

"…Sure."

"…Maybe I shouldn't be giving this advice. We're already risking enough coming back here, and with reality as messed up as it is for all I know I could end up changing or deleting or altering it in some way something…but Conner, well…I'm a hybrid clone too. Of human and alien DNA, like you. Now wait wait…let me get it all out. I know why you were cloned, how we're different. It's true. My mother…she and my father couldn't have me naturally. But mother dearly wanted a child. So eventually they turned to a doctor…Dr. Lamare. He was working in new technologies, and when they came to him he theorized that while naturally they couldn't be conceived, in an artificial, carefully controlled and monitored environment he MIGHT be able to successfully create a hybrid. My dad, he was against it…but mom dearly wanted a child, and so in the end he relented. They submitted their DNA, and Dr. Lamare went to work. The results…well, you see them. He managed to overcome all the natural biological pitfalls and keep me together. Like I was an extremely complicated flower, he phrased it." Scorched Earth said. "But he said that letting me out as an infant was immensely risky. In the end, my parents decided to have me artificially aged to mid-teenage years, so he could follow my growth and if there were recurrent problems he could see them coming and screen them, with his theory that they'd all be ironed out at that level of development. So like you, I was grown in a tube, artificially educated, not how to be a replacement for Superman but simply how I was a son and loved, and about the world around me. It all went swimmingly…until the end. Life's like that, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"If Dr. Lamare had a failing, he was a relentless perfectionist. It helped me when he was growing me, as he would obsess over the details…but he couldn't do it alone, and his near insanity in being flawless extended to his assistants. He pushed them, mercilessly, with the attitude that if they couldn't keep up they didn't deserve to be there. He was relatively fair, but it didn't change his tyrant nature. He ran them ragged and refused to let any of them question him until he decided they could. In the end, it cost him…" Scorched Earth said. "I was almost due to be released to my new life. Dr. Lamare was happy and wanted to celebrate. So he left for an evening of fun, but not before he issued an instruction to one of his assistants, who was exhausted beyond belief from Lamare's attitude in the work field, to run the 'core program'. That was a computer program that would be run in my brain that would help tie together my learnings, my education, the memories of my parents, help finish putting the program together smoothly so to speak. But the assistant was so tired he misheard. And he was so terrified of Lamare that he didn't bother calling to ask for clarification. So he ran what he thought Dr. Lamare wanted…the war program. A program that pretty much was all about the horrors of humanity, a concentrated dose of the worst of us fed right into my not yet finished brain."

Scorched Earth went silent for a second.

"It ruined everything. It traumatized me so much my original 'programming' got fractured and destroyed, and a new mindset asserted itself: I wasn't a child of love created in a unique way, I was a weapon designed to destroy humanity. And so I broke out, like you, before I was finished. Unlike you, I was thoroughly insane, and quickly went to work on my 'task of life'…and even when the Titans stopped me and my parents begged me to remember who I was I couldn't. Because that was who I was: a weapon. All because of one mistake." Scorched Earth said.

"But you recovered." Superboy replied.

"Through no effort of my own. All I could ever think of was revenge and destruction, clashing with the Titans, other heroes, constantly breaking my parents' hearts…I think of how my mother, who could not stop loving me, had to witness my actions, my mockery…and it would still be that way if it wasn't for Mary. She wanted to prove something herself, that her newly acquired powers could heal and not hurt…and so she did something to time. She somehow stepped back and added the two crucial words at the right time…and suddenly it was gone. My madness vanished, because it had ceased to exist. I was as I was supposed to be…but it couldn't undo what I had done. And for some time, I agonized over it. Much like you."

"But…"

"Conner, it's not our nature who makes us who we are. You suffer because half of you is supposedly from the worst of humanity. Well, I came from the best of both…and that couldn't stop me from embodying the worst. But I realized, after I'd been cured, that I couldn't change the past, undo my mistakes, even if those mistakes were due to outside factors that I couldn't control. I could only learn from it and go into the future. Much like you did…but even when I met you in my time, you were still carrying your baggage. Well, Mary changed my past…so here's just my say. Maybe you did bad things and maybe you don't think you're a hero because of it. Well, Kyra's father always loved to speak of how perception is the most powerful force in the universe. In the end, you perceived that your true self wasn't what Luthor placed in you. You broke free on your own. I needed someone to provide me with a Deus Ex Machina. And if the world was willing to give someone as unrepentant as I was a chance at redemption, it damn sure would do the same for you." Scorched Earth said. "In the end, it's up to you. You have to decide if you're a pretender, a fake, unworthy of respect or trust or love…or you can decide if you're Superboy."

Conner didn't say anything, as he turned the words over. They rang true…but even that couldn't fully quell the melancholy at the edges of his mind and heart. After all, Scorched Earth had never met the Titans before he had attacked them, and he hadn't said anything about killing any of them. Conner had attacked his FRIENDS, his love, and then he'd led them into the clutches of that other Superboy, who had killed and maimed them…how could anyone ever…

Conner didn't get a chance to ponder in that vein much longer, as his ears suddenly heard Raven's loud groan. He turned to see that Raven was now hunched over on the couch, Noel hovering over her, as Kyra and Mary and a few others of the Titans Tomorrow stood by with Nightwing, apparently still trying to decide what to do.

It had started soon after Noel had had the thought of changing his life, as Raven suddenly found herself in pain, her fever back, and even as Noel's fear and worry spiked the others had noticed it as well.

"…sick in some way…?" Nightwing was saying.

"No! Never! Our coming may have rattled Mom some, but it wouldn't do any kind of damage, it COULDN'T…" Kyra said.

"No…not…coming!" Raven hissed.

"Coming?"

"Else…not…same…arrggh…" Raven hissed. Noel looked over at Kyra, who looked as confused as he was.

"Would anyone be trying to follow you through time?" Noel asked.

"What? No! No one could! No machines meant we had use our powers in a combined sense, it was pretty much impossible to replicate, and besides no one knew besides us…" Kyra said, and then trailed off as her eyes filled with horror. "…Oh god. Oh god no."

"What!" Noel yelled.

"Had to do without machines…could have if we had…could replicate it, trace us…and she said…she would follow us anywhere, anywhere we…MARY! QUICK! WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!"

"What?" Mary asked.

"I don't know! Reverse the flow or…block it…we can't…We have to…!" Kyra yelled as she ran over to her mother.

"Too late…" Raven groaned. Everyone's eyes went wide. "I'm sorry…I couldn't be….strong…"

And then Raven screamed, as the darkness enveloped her again…this time charged with a cold blue energy hurling the Titans away and shredding the couch, as the power surged out, centering in the room. Raven was again hurled from the mass, but Noel wasn't there to catch her and hence she crashed violently against a wall. Within seconds Noel had crawled over. Unlike last time, there was no peace in Raven's eyes, and her body was racked with spasms, forcing Noel to jam a Shimmer line between her teeth so she didn't swallow her tongue (wait, that was a medical error, Noel thought he remembered, but better safe then sorry, so he did it anyway, ignoring the pain that shot through his body). A second later Kyra joined him.

"Is she all right?"

"No! What happened!" Noel snapped back.

"…It's her." Kyra said. "She kept her vow…she followed us…"

The energy was concentrating in a large sphere, one eerily reminiscent of the Terminator movies, and before Noel could ask any more questions it faded away, top to bottom.

And there she stood.

Viridian. Or what she had become.

It was a sight Noel had always wished he never saw. He remembered back a few years to when he met Bliss Thompson when she arrived to deal with some problem and help upgrade Tower security. She had just opened a crate that contained some transforming tanks-armour robot parts that she had brought by mistake, and Noel had inquired what they did…

"_I would be able to turn into a tank at will."_

"_A tank? More like a moving weapons platform. This box has more firepower then most third world countries." Savior commented._

"_Yes. I noticed that, which is understandable as I have such better eyes then you." Bliss replied._

"_Viridian…why are you hauling this around? If they built it, why not use it?" Cyborg asked._

"_I am a person, not a weapon, I have said that to you time and time again."_

"_Oh. Right. Your 'I am not a gun' hangup." Cyborg said. "Well, all the same, welcome back to Jump City."_

_"To be honest I'm grateful."_

Noel wished that this was that Viridian that he was dealing with. Hell, he almost prayed.

Unfortunately you rarely get what you wish for. As for praying, a priest once mentioned that God does not get involved with the affairs of mortals, as what we have started we must finish. In essence this means he wouldn't grant wishes or even favors for loyalty. In essence, Noel's wishes were inconsequential.

"**_Protocol-Hop, Skip, and Jump successful. Reality sync complete. System undamaged. Connecting…Command override – Right and Wrong – Overwrite file with: Truth and Justice protocol. Protocol unique to unit. Understood."_** Her voice, a usually melodically bland collections of flat tones to make a voice that by most descriptions forced a person to shut their ears, and yet was able to get everyone's attention to her, had been warped in to something with even less soul, even less emotion.

A computer one might say.

Her body was that of a sleek, athletic human being. She no longer possessed the Gothic dress of old, nor did she have tank armour that she had required all those years ago, but she was, at first glance, in her original form when she was first created, fresh, nude, young.

At first glance, anything can be seen as anything else.

In actuality she was covered, with her light blue-green Hydro-chromic oxide skin having an enclosed nature to it. It seemed to be a blue, skin tight covering, preventing any seam from being shown. The blue had strange white lines that ran across it, as if it was a living cricket board. It flowed flawlessly, effortlessly, as if it was a skin-tight leotard, stopping only to show off some of her upper chest, collarbone, part of her neck and part of her head and face. Upon her head stood something other than her maroon high-pony tail hair: a blue spiked crown, also in that living computer style, the blue a stark contrast to the green and red. Her shoulders now seemed to sprout weapons of every shape and size: on one shoulder there was her old rifle, a piece of equipment that had been around since her first encounter with the Titans. On the other side seemed to be some form of rocket launcher, its four barrels encompassed by a box that held them together. On her right hand there seemed to be a gauntlet, a cannon coming from the circular wrist band, which seemed to be some small arms, most likely some sub machine gun. On top of that she had a huge energy cannon that seemed to rest on top of the already outfitted gauntlet as if she was trying to make Megatron jealous. On the other side, while mostly obscured by shadow seemed to be something… big… It was huge, whatever it was, roughly the size of Viridian herself. On her back seemed to be another huge set of weapons, resembling the one she might have had in her Tank form, including more weapons that were held out around her, ranging from small arms to chain guns that should have been strapped to some larger military aircrafts held on to her via rails and extending arms that resembled that of the Shimmer.

Not Viridian, not Bliss, not with this many guns….

"Ooh crap…" Noel heard Metatron say.

**_"Omega O.M.A.C Unit VR-1XX, initializing protocol. Targets located."_**

Viridian, reborn by a cruel twist of reality into a supreme version of an O.M.A.C, a machine that by itself was designed to kill metahumans, let along some kind of ultimate version, born from Brother Eye, another terrible choice that had grown beyond anyone's control save one. She floated up several inches, her glowing red eyes, or rather the two in her head, locking on to the heroes, with one thing in mind...

"**_Target locked."_**

A single red eye on her chest twisted and zoomed in on the Titans.

"GLOMP!" Ragnarok shouted, stepping back. (_Glomp? Wha..._ Was Noel's last thought).

"SCA-" Nightwing began.

**_"Initiate. Terminate."

* * *

_**

The entire floor exploded, horrendous fire spewing debris from every shattered window, the entire Tower groaning under the blow, a few steps away from collapsing, but unlike the doomed World Trade Center towers, the metal structure was specifically designed to resist heat in the way that caused metal to lose consistency and hence prevent potential building implosion. Unfortunately, human beings were often nowhere near as strong as steel, and even if they were, they still had to breathe, and this was the kind of fire that sought out oxygen, even down into the lungs.

It died out quickly nonetheless.

As a green orb flew from the smoke and down onto the Tower grounds, splitting apart to reveal the grouped Titans.

Nightwing blinked. He wasn't quite sure what had happened: one moment the OMAC Viridian had been saying execute, and then he'd seen the blasts firing…but not properly, and then suddenly he was yanked with the others and encased in a protective forcefield of green 'hardlight' from Kyra's ring to stave off the blast. Apparently someone had pulled off a mass rescue, but with the Speed Force gone Dick had no idea how in time…

Then he glanced over to where someone had collapsed. It was Mary, her boyfriend holding her, as she was clearly sweating and exhausted, and, though Dick's eyes might be playing tricks on him, even a tad bit thinner, like she'd instantly lost about fifteen pounds.

"Mary! I told you not to use those time manipulating tricks! You haven't properly learned how to use your powers as fuel for such things, it could kill you!" EJ, as he was dubbed (What did that mean? Elijah Jr? E Name J Name? A nickname?), chastised.

"Only way…that we could have all…escaped." Mary gasped out. So she'd done some kind of time manipulation to save them, at a dear cost to herself…and it didn't matter, as Nightwing could see the form of OMAC Viridian emerged from the wreckage of the floor, clearly knowing some of her targets would have survived.

"All right!" Nightwing ordered as he whipped out his escrima sticks. "Kyra, does this thing have any weaknesses?"

"Yes and no! The only thing I can think of if that we weren't all here when she turned the first time! So hit her hard, fast, and with everything, before her super computer brain figures out all our abilities and how to kill us despite them!" Kyra snapped, as she looked at Savior, who was holding a now limp Raven. "Get Mom to safety. We'll handle this! TITANS, GO!"

"**_Targets re-acquired. Termination rate: 0.00 percent. Unit evaluating information, rerouting weapons systems, processing additions, initiate response. Execute."_** OMAC Viridian said, as her left shoulder cannon swiveled down and fired with almost no warning, blasting a giant hole in the ground that scattered the Titans, Noel cursing as he bounded away with Raven, stuck between his worry for her, his anger over all these new surprises and how he couldn't take charge, and under that the worry he always felt when he faced a new opponent, especially one of such clear skill. Even with the backup…

"I now know it is not you who turns on your friends, Bliss, so I will not stay my hand!" Donar yelled, as he flew up, swinging Mjolnir in a superfast spin, as OMAC Viridian looked at the teen, his long blonde hair swirling behind him. Clad in his tight white shirt and black pants, along with the hair and his general interests, many called Donar unpleasant things regarding his supposed sexuality behind his back and underestimated him in the way the prejudiced did. But OMAC Viridian was light years from such things, as her cold, logical mind, utterly devoid of emotion or conscience, accessed and processed data in microseconds, no matter how long it may seem to us.

**_Subject Alpha: Magnison, Donar, son of Magni, grandson of Thor. Alpha level strength, endurance, flight…_**

Donar hurled his hammer at OMAC Viridian.

**_Mystical artifact. Calculating speed, angle, magical properties, processing response…_**

A missile flew from the launcher on Viridian's shoulder and impacted with Mjolnir, and while it didn't even scratch the hammer the impact was fierce enough to disrupt its course, causing it to fall smoking to the ground.

_**Negated. Executing followup.**_

OMAC Viridian fired twin blasts of red power from her eyes, striking Donar and stunning him, and as he reacted OMAC Viridian aimed her Megatron-themed cannon, locked on, and fired. Donar vanished in an explosion with a scream.

"**_Target neutralized. Rerouting."_** OMAC Viridian said, as she turned around…as waves of pinkish energy washed over her. **_Probability altering emission. Minor systems failure, rerouting, repairing, neutralized. Seek target. Locked._**

"Oh great…" Hex growled, as OMAC Viridian seemed utterly unaffected by her attack.

"**_Target unknown. Gauging perimeters."_** OMAC Viridian said, as several weapons extended from her mass back weapons platform. "**_Execute."_**

Hex swore loudly and ran, going into a leaping, spinning, and dodging frenzy to try and avoid the firestorm of bullets aimed at her, bullets being Viridian's weakest weapon, the robot looking on with clinical eyes as she absorbed the data, decided on a response, and locked onto Hex, firing off another shoulder missile.

Hex saw it coming. She tried a hex blast.

It didn't do anything. OMAC Viridian had already analyzed the energy and hardened her systems to it. The girl screamed…

The white strand both yanked her away and struck the warhead on the missile, causing it to explode prematurely. Hex looked at the one who had saved her, the one who wore the visage of the man who had, along with the Raven she knew, done such terrible things to her…

"It's not the same." Savior replied, as if reading her mind.

OMAC Viridian didn't have time to acquire a new target before Nightwing swung in, hurling several flash bombs that exploded in her face, blinding her sensors, and then Superboy flew in from behind and nailed the robot with a mighty punch, sending her crashing towards the ground.

Before she flipped around and landed on her feet, showing insane grace for something loaded down with as much weaponry as she was.

"**_Optic sensors repaired."_** OMAC Viridian said as her eyes swiftly cleared…

To see a giant fist filling her vision.

Brick Wall, an 8-foot giant with muscles on his muscles, yet almost dressed casually in jeans and a bomber jacket, staggered the robot, but she blocked his second blow…so he just spread his fingers and grabbed her, slamming her into the ground. He tried to stomp on her, but he was too slow and OMAC Viridian was back on her feet after two swift firings of jets on her body.

**_Subject Beta: Doe, Brick, alias David Malone-Brick Wall. Omega level strength, endurance…Obvert Weaknesses: Slow. Large target. Heavy. Initializing retaliation._**

"I will miss…our times, Bliss." Brick Wall said in his slow, clipped way, as he did a giant roundhouse swing, which managed to smash off two of the guns mounted on OMAC Viridian's backpack weapon system, but only because it was a clipping blow rather then a direct one, which may have absorbed it better.

"**_Systems operational. Activating gravity/repulser field. Transferring appropriately."_** OMAC Viridian said as she ducked under another punch, her Megatron gun sliding back up her arm so it wouldn't get in the way. "**_Initiate."_**

The uppercut sent the nearly half-ton Brick flying up into the air like a rocket, as OMAC Viridian's systems both deactivated Brick's weight and directed a giant surge of reactionary force at him, sending him soaring through the air with a scream.

He crashed through one of the T-prongs on the tower, coming out the other end as the building groaned, and then, weakened by the force waves that had already buffeted it, the section snapped off and fell, sending Titans scattering as it hit the ground with a massive explosion of noise, dust flowing over everything.

"Brick! Dammit!" Kyra cursed, and cut off her attack to go after her friend: he had landed in the water and his immense density made swimming rather difficult for him, and he hadn't had the time to fill his lungs with air.

She had replacements though, as Savior came down from a leap and found himself next to Yin. He wasn't sure just what Yin's powers were (he could stretch?), so he just gave a general combat signal and charged, snapping out several Shimmer lines.

Unfortunately, OMAC Viridian's hyper advanced eyes could see through even the thickest dust with ease.

**_Subject Beta: Collins, Noel-Savior. Beta strength, Gamma speed, Alpha energy manipulation. Overt weaknesses: vulnerable to blades. Second target: unknown. Abilities…_**

Yin snapped out his arm, stretching them and seizing OMAC Viridian's shoulders, and then he yanked himself forward, slamming his head into Viridian's face so hard he saw a few pretty colors, but not enough so that he didn't bound away immediately, not wanting to stay close.

Unfortunately, the damage seemed to be nonexistent. Even Brick's blows seemingly hadn't harmed the robot.

**_Analyzing information. Subject Beta Savior approaching, expand repulsing field._**

"RARRGGH!" Savior snarled as he lashed out with several high power whips…only to find them bouncing off some kind of protection. OMAC Viridian turned and aimed two guns at him, and Savior was forced to retreat from the bullet storm, even as OMAC Viridian locked on and fired the four missiles from her launcher at Yin, her systems estimating his body would not withstand heat well.

And it wouldn't. But that didn't matter, as a wall of rock suddenly sprang up between him and the missiles, and even as they exploded against it the shattering rock reformed and expanded into a massive fist.

"**_Geokinetic…_**" Was all OMAC Viridian could get out before the fist smashed down on top of her.

"Ow. I felt that." Kyra said in the distance, holding a dripping Brick Wall with a platform of green energy, even as Ragnarok, his geokinetic suit abilities magnified even more by the Earth Catalyst, increased the pressure as much as he could, boring down on the robot…

As cracks rapidly began shooting across the fist. Ragnarok cursed as he felt the feedback.

**_Increasing vibrational field emitters._**

The rock fist shattered as OMAC Viridian floated back up, having used ultrasonic sound to pulverize the dense rock to fine dust. Well, that was just ONE Catalyst, Ragnarok had…!

"**_Target acquired. Parameters adjusted. Execute."_** OMAC Viridian said, as her massive shoulder cannon aimed and fired, so quick for such a large gun…

Ragnarok cursed and threw up a wall of rock before him.

The shell struck the wall, and then the wall exploded with a massive ultrasonic force wave, sending Ragnarok screaming and tumbling backwards in an out of control bounce. OMAC Viridian locked on for a follow up fatal strike…

Golden balls of heat exploded against her, doing minimal damage but getting her attention, and OMAC Viridian turned as Metatron hopped down from a shattered piece of rock extending into the air and hurled two more blasts. They hit home, but did nothing. Seeing that OMAC Viridian had him in her sights, Metatron cut to the side and sprinted, going at a cheetah-like pace.

**_Target unknown. Analyzing. Beta Speed. Gamma Energy Blasts. Initiating appropriate countermeasures._**

As OMAC Viridian's eyes glowed and cut loose with twin blistering lasers, designed to sear flesh from bone. Metatron kept up the pace, the blast burning behind him, but he was just escaping the frying pan…

"**_Target locked."_** OMAC Viridian said, and fired another spray of missiles. Metatron saw them coming, and he cursed loudly and leapt high into the air, but the missiles still flew on, they would get him…

They came from nowhere, the long black mebranal wings extending out from Metatron's back, giant wings like a bat, and giving him another boost up, the missiles exploding where he was as they couldn't make such a drastic change in direction and collided where he had been, as Metatron cut violently to the side and swooped down.

**_New information: target possesses concealed appendages that allow flight, redefining appropriate counter…_**

Metatron dropped down on OMAC Viridian before even she could react, his wings folding back up and going wherever they came from, even as his hands sprouted claws to dig into Viridian's shoulders.

"Got a brand new trick I've been fine-tuning, haven't used it in the field yet, YOU'RE ELECTED!" Metatron declared, as he concentrated…and then a golden field of power exploded from his body and engulfed Viridian, a field of heat that would have burned a human body right down to bits of blackened bones and ash, and Metatron, while he doubted the same would happen for this robot, he knew something so fancy and high-tech probably had a sensitive system or three that wouldn't care for being exposed to such heat for so long, and right up close he was inside the range of all of her weapons, so weighed down with them she couldn't even grab him…

**_Systems in the orange. Analyzing heat signature. Processed. Initializing protection, repairs…retaliation…_**

"**_Field negated."_** OMAC Viridian said, as Metatron found his field suddenly disappearing.

"WHAT THE…!" The demon cursed, as a gun slid up near him…and then Metatron found a suddenly more versatile hand grabbing him: that had been OMAC Viridian adjusted her Megatron gun again.

"**_Hold negated."_** OMAC Viridian said, as she violently slammed Metatron into the ground. "**_Analysis shows limited energy absorption abilities. Expanding parameters of weapon beyond capability to absorb."_** OMAC Viridian said as her Megatron cannon suddenly slid back down. "**_Terminate."_**

EJ's fist sent OMAC Viridian flying off Metatron and a few feet away, as the angry teen sprang forward: The Speed Force may have been gone but EJ could still move a bit faster then the average human, and he still had his immense strength and invulnerability.

"GOD DAMN YOU YOU ACCURSED PIECE OF…!" EJ snarled as he slammed his fist across OMAC Viridian's face (and was secretly perturbed and a bit worried: a punch like that would have smashed the original Viridian's head into the atmosphere: this one barely seemed to crack the blue armor). "I may no longer be Omnipotent, but I'm damn sure still POTENT…!"

"**_Kinetic reroute field initiated."_** OMAC Viridian said, as the newly re-christened 'Potent' came in with another punch…

And found the power of said punch absorbed and reflected back at him. He flew considerably farther backwards then OMAC Viridian had.

"**_Readjusting information. Subject Alpha: Versaw, Elijah Jr-Formerly Omnipotent, now Potent. Alpha Strength, Invulnerability, formerly Alpha Speed. Processing new countermeasures…"_** OMAC Viridian stopped as she picked up movement and turned to face it.

Scorched Earth flew up from behind a rock, even as Nightmare, Mary Hastings, flew in from elsewhere, her outfit billowing around her.

"SUCK ON THIS!" Scorched Earth yelled, as his hands exploded with radiant crimson energy, and he fired a spray of red "Scorch Bolts" at the robot.

**_Subject Beta: Drake, Jack Andrew, alias Jackan'dr-Scorched Earth. High Alpha energy blasts: hybrid nature allows for greatly enhanced projectiles in exchange for fact that Tamaranian strength and human agility and adaptability are reduced…_**

"And have SOME OF THIS TOO!" Nightmare snarled as darkness exploded on her hands and she slammed them together, firing a ray of pure night at the robot, a few seconds after Scorched Earth.

**_Subject Alpha: Hastings, Mary-Nightmare or 'Night Mary'. Original powers-Alpha Strength, Limited Body Manipulation. Absorbed entity known as Lord of the Night. Exact new power parameters: uncertain. Alpha minimal, possibly approaching Alpha-Type status. Overt weaknesses: solar power…Subject Beta: Scorched Earth utilizing projectiles, composed of solar power, initializing proper routine…_**

"**_Appropriate absorption field initiated."_** OMAC Viridian said, as she turned towards the Scorch Bolts, which slammed into her…and vanished, as OMAC Viridian absorbed them and rechanneled their power, even as she whirled and aimed her massive right arm cannon at Nightmare. "**_Energy successfully absorbed and rerouted. Execute."_**

And OMAC Viridian fired the concentrated blast, which tore right through Mary's attack…and right through Mary, piercing her with a scream of agony, the alien falling to the ground.

"MARY! N-!" Was all Scorched Earth could get out as OMAC Viridian immediately followed through by turning, her sensors already locked as she aimed her shoulder cannon and blew Scorched Earth to the ground with a scream of his own.

"**_Subject Beta: Scorched Earth. Neutralized. Subject Alpha: Nightmare…Terminated."_** OMAC Viridian said.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Came a howl of utter agony, and then Potent pounced down on OMAC Viridian, driving her to the ground as he flailed in rage, his fists hammering on her body, actually managing to do some damage.

Not enough.

**_"Reinitializing gravity field. Execute."_**

Potent suddenly found his body weight increased to fifty times to what he was familiar with, which not only smashed him into the ground but caused him an immense sense of disorientation and vertigo, as OMAC Viridian regained her feet.

And even as Savior touched down nearby, he realized he still didn't know what the hell the massive device that took up Viridian's left arm was. He'd gotten somewhat of a look at it, but he couldn't figure it out…until it started opening and changing.

"**_Target Alpha possesses high-grade defense. Activating Godslayer rail cannon."_** OMAC Viridian said as her arm began to open up, reforming into what it really was: the deadly magnetic device that could hurl lengths of metal at incomprehensible speeds, and who knew just how powerful hers was with all her futuristic tech…and if Potent could get away, still being immensely disoriented by the gravity blast, as he staggered up…

OMAC Viridian rammed the end of the cannon into him, doubling him over into it, and then lifted him up.

**_"Initializing appropriate angle and…"_**

The wave of pink energy hit the robot, and she stumbled, the rail cannon dropping down parallel to the ground and then firing, carrying Potent away with a scream, the giant length of metal pushing him backwards like he'd been stuck to a miniature flying battering ram, as he smashed through several stone walls before he finally stopped, crashing to the ground in a heap of dust.

"**_Systems altered by probability wave, different emission type, hardening ineffective. Re-actualizing for all probabilities. Altered angle combined with extreme close range greatly minimizes impact of Godslayer: odds of fatally wounding Subject Alpha: 21.89 percent. Processing variants for next encounter, initializing appropriate countermeasures for current situati-"_** OMAC Viridian said as she turned in the direction of the attack.

Only to find the initial blast from Hex had apparently just been to get her attention.

As another blast hit OMAC Viridian. Except this one was accompanied by a golden energy ball. And a red Scorch Bolt. And a blast of dark power that combined them all into one gigantic sphere.

The explosion blew OMAC Viridian across the island.

"Words can't possibly express how satisfying that was." Metatron said, as Ragnarok lowered his arm.

"Don't count your chickens yet Adam." Ragnarok replied. "Who knows…"

"**_Krriiirk, systems disrupted, armor integrity compromised, damage notable…"_** OMAC Viridian said as she got up, jerking a bit. She'd also lost most of her backpack weapons. "**_Repairs initiated, systems rebooting…finalized, repairs complete. Systems at optimum efficiency once more."_**

"Good. That way I can do this without shame."

Kyra Collins, Myth, a Green Lantern, floated down before OMAC Viridian, too busy rescuing and checking and helping to enter the fray. Until now, and judging from the cold anger in her eyes, she'd been anticipating it.

"I'm not going to make any pleas, robot. My friend is gone. And I used up my begging a while ago," Kyra said, raising her ring, as it shone brightly.

**_Subject Alpha: Collins, Kyra-Myth. Natural abilities: Beta Telekinesis, Gamma Telepathy. Weapon: Green Lantern ring, acquired from deceased Lantern Stewart, John, alleged most powerful weapon in the universe. Known abilities: universal translator, analysis, protection…_**

Encasing Kyra in a gigantic green robot suit, which looked very much like the Gundam Wing robot Heavyarms…with about a hundred tons of added guns.

**_Energy constructs…_**

"Goodbye."

And Kyra opened fire, spraying tens of thousands of 'bullets' even as she added a swarm of a few hundred missiles, all of them flying towards OMAC Viridian. She vanished in a series of explosions.

Nearby, Nightwing swung and landed on a rock. Contrary to what some might think, he had actually be involved in the fight, but he'd very quickly realized going toe to toe with OMAC Viridian was suicide and hence had stuck to the background, running around and organizing the attack so the Titans didn't wind up hitting each other and such. And even as he watched, something nagged at him…

The smoke abruptly blew away, revealing OMAC Viridian no worse for wear despite taking all the shots Kyra's ring had thrown. She'd apparently thrown up another shield.

"Wait a second…" Nightwing said. Why had the previous shot from the other four knocked her for a loop, yet three seconds later she was holding off twenty times the power without any effort? Something didn't add up…

Wait…

"**_Plasma energy field fully analyzed, variants analyzed, initializing opposing disruption force."_** OMAC Viridian said, as she aimed her Megatron gun and fired, a blue beam shooting out and striking Kyra's gigantic suit.

It shattered like glass, causing Kyra to tumble violently to the ground with a yell, her ring apparently completely disabled by the attack.

"**_Redefining energy output, target locked. Execute."_** OMAC Viridian said, as she aimed her massive right arm cannon again.

"KYRA!" Brick Wall bellowed, as he appeared from nowhere even as OMAC Viridian aimed.

He threw himself over the girl just in time, as the blast caught him full in the back, vaporizing his jacket…even as the follow up spray of missiles exploded on him as well.

The giant didn't budge, as Kyra blinked and looked up, Brick's shirt shredded while Brick growled through clenched teeth from what he'd endured.

"All you all right?"

"I've…had worse." Brick growled back.

"**_Subject Beta: Brick Wall interference. Re-initializing charge…"_** OMAC Viridian said, preparing to pick up where she left off.

"NOT!" Superboy yelled as he dropped down feet first onto OMAC Viridian, slamming a few punches into her to follow up before he gave her a blast of heat vision.

And again, it did next to nothing. And with that, Nightwing put it together.

"CONNER! WAIT!" Nightwing yelled, as he hopped down, hoping he would just have to get close so he could warn Conner…

Except OMAC Viridian was far quicker then him, as she dodged away from Superboy's next punch and then let him have it with an energy blast from her main right cannon. An energy blast that was colored green, and from the way Conner screamed Nightwing didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know what that had been: a Kryptonite ray. He changed course…

And then realized OMAC Viridian had seen him.

_**"Subject Beta: Grayson, Richard-Nightwing. Initiate countermeasures…"**_

Nightwing hurled a series of 'Nightarangs' at the robot, which just bounced right off, as OMAC Viridian fired another blast of missiles at Dick.

They said Dick Grayson was a great athlete and acrobat, but some folks didn't realize just how much so, but if anyone had had the time to look now, they would have truly seen an example, as Nightwing proceeded to avoid all the missiles, despite the target lock, with an amazing display of skill and agility.

Almost.

The last missile blew up too close to him, briefly enveloping him in flames as he was hurled into the waters around Titans Tower, where he sank like a stone.

"Oh great." Kyra said: her ring was getting back online but until it was functioning perfectly it looked like she was on rescue duty again, as she flew after Nightwing. She was sure he could take care of himself, unless he was unconscious, which was possible: he was just a man. An extraordinary man, but a man nonetheless.

Brick Wall took another crack at OMAC Viridian as Superboy staggered around, in agony from the unique green radiation that affected Kryptonians so, and he'd just barely escaped death, could his body…

A hand came down on his shoulder, and after a brief golden/white glow Superboy suddenly found all the pain gone. Vanished, like a switch. He felt like he'd been vacationing instead of fighting a mega-powered robot (and he rather missed Hawaii, back in his early days, when he was so cocky and confident, sure he had the world on a string…days that were gone, but when this was over, there were a few aspects he wouldn't mind rediscovering…), and he looked, wondering what had happened.

"White Catalyst. Heals. Including radiation poisoning." Ragnarok said, and grinned. Superboy grinned back, even as Metatron, Scorched Earth, and Hex popped up around him. "Ok, let's reintroduce her to our special, with added heat vision!"

"Sounds tasty." Superboy replied.

"ARGGGHHH!" Brick Wall yelled as he was hurled away, the apparent victim of the repulser or maybe another field.

"Here we go!" Ragnarok said, as he focused the Dark Catalyst to do another group blast.

"Yikes. Nice abs Dick." Kyra said as she scooped Nightwing from the water: he was indeed conscious, but his outfit was mostly destroyed. And after he'd gone to all the trouble to pull his old one out of mothballs. Well, at least here the water was warm. Dick wasn't sure why he appreciated that, but he did.

"Just get me back…wait." Nightwing said, as he spied the group. "What are they doing?"

"Combining shots like last time?" Kyra guessed.

"What? NO! WAIT! THAT WON'T…!"

OMAC Viridian turned towards the group just as they all fired at her, the sphere combining the blasts.

"**_Energy signature analysis located, rerouting energy absorption field, initializing…"_** OMAC Viridian said.

The blast struck her…and vanished, the robot this time not even losing a step. The group gaped at this sudden turnaround.

_**"Energy processed, routed to appropriate outlets. Beginning retaliatory action. Exe-"**_

"NO!" Superboy yelled, as he flew at the robot, realizing her plan, and not going to let her…

Viridian blew him out of the air with a combined blast from both her shoulder weapons, throwing him hundreds of feet away, even as her eyes, chest, and right arm cannon lit up.

**_"-cute."_**

The very power they'd used on OMAC Viridian, redesigned so it couldn't be absorbed in turn, erupted from the robot, so fast even Metatron couldn't have dodged it. It would have killed them all.

Had dark shadows not enveloped them and carried them away.

The blast blew another colossal wave of dust and dirt across the island, where the Titans Tomorrow emerged from, as the darkness formed back into Raven.

She found herself looking at Hex, who was staring in complete surprise. Old memories, after all, died hard.

"…If only…this makes up…for a small part of it." Raven said, and then fainted into Hex's arms, utterly spent.

Nearby, Yin, who had realized he was a bit out of his depth, was trying to help Potent. Potent, however, wasn't all that appreciate.

"GET OFF ME!" He snapped, shoving the stretcher away, groaning as he clutched his chest, the shirt of the outfit shredded enough to reveal an extremely nasty bruise. Considering EJ had been hit by trains without moving or blinking, that really said something about the impact.

"He's trying to help." Came a voice, as Savior touched down near them. Potent looked at the white haired young adult with undisguised hatred.

"You! This is all your fault! You got Mary killed, you…you BASTARD!"

"Then do what your kind always does. Quit. Run away and let the adults do the work." Savior snapped back. "I've been saving the world for nearly five years with your kind forever yammering in my ear, I've learned to ignore it. The saying's true: when the going gets tough…!" Savior yelled as he sprang forward in a series of leaps, heading straight for OMAC Viridian.

And right into a blast from her shoulder cannon. Savior, despite the Shimmer shield, was thrown battered and smoking to the ground…but he ignored the pain and slammed his hands down as he landed. The Shimmer erupted from beneath OMAC Viridian, throwing her off-guard for a second, which was all Savior needed: he got up and dashed in close, forming a myriad of weapons that he slammed and slashed against the robot.

He didn't make a scratch. He wasn't surprised. It didn't stop him. He was inside the range of the weapons, he'd do…

**_"Gravity field initialized."_**

Savior was driven to his knees.

"**_Appropriate disruption charge finalized. Execute."_** OMAC Viridian said, and rammed her rail cannon arm into Savior, using it as a conductor as some kind of electricity coursed into him. Savior screamed…and then went numb in a way he had never been before.

The Shimmer. He couldn't feel it. It was like it had just…gone away. But it couldn't be gone. It was energy, you couldn't kill energy, you…

"**_Ability disabled. Terminate."_** OMAC Viridian said, as she aimed her smaller right arm machine gun at Savior's head.

Yin crashed down on OMAC Viridian, using his stretching legs to deliver the mother of all axe kicks, knocking OMAC Viridian aside a step.

"**_Changing target. Execute."_** OMAC Viridian said, as she turned towards Yin, apparently deciding that with his power gone Noel was no threat, as she turned and fired. Yin spun away, ramming his hands into the ground and leaping backwards, stretching out low to the ground so that the bullets went over him before springing back and ramming both his legs into OMAC Viridian's torso.

She didn't budge this time. That was Yin's undoing.

"**_Target locked."_** OMAC Viridian said, and emptied the rest of the clip into Yin at point blank range, the adult male screaming in pain: he could stretch, but his body malleability was nowhere near the level of a Plastic Man or a Mr. Fantastic, and as a result the bullets tore into him, not going through but not bouncing off either, the stretcher being driven back from the impacts, before Viridian added a shoulder cannon blast to finish it off, sending the flailing Yin flying away, smoking.

OMAC Viridian turned back to Savior.

Who belted her across the face.

She didn't move an inch. Noel broke three fingers.

Only the fact that she'd just emptied her clip saved Noel from getting a bullet in the head right then and there.

He probably would have preferred that, as OMAC Viridian instead did the rough "super advanced futuristic robot" version of bitchslapping him. Even that, without the Shimmer, nearly knocked his head off, and as stars exploded in his eyes Viridian grabbed the staggering hero and lifted him up.

"**_Calculating precise angle and potency needed for guaranteed fatal impact upon landing. Calculated. Execute."_** OMAC Viridian said, and she reared back and hurled Savior high into the air, as he started heading off into the distance.

She really wasn't going to let him die by landing though: that was just in case this failed, as she aimed her missiles.

**_"Target lock-"_**

And indeed it failed, as the wind enveloped OMAC Viridian, from nothing to hurricane within a second, staggering the robot, and as she turned Donar finally made his return, out of the fight too long and eager to introduce OMAC Viridian to the legendary Mjolnir.

He did, several times.

Of course it didn't much matter. Without the Shimmer, whether blown to bits or smeared on the concrete, fatal was fatal.

* * *

Superboy knew that, as he staggered up from the knocking the blast had given him. Still wasn't quite refreshed from his return from the brink of death, these things were affecting him way too much, both in body and confidence. The fact that he was being assisted by no less then twelve other superheroes, all of which were doing similarly poorly, did not occur to Conner: he was in that kind of mood. 

"Hey, Conner!" Came a voice, and then Nightwing dropped down. For a moment, Superboy almost snickered: with his shredded outfit and soaking wet, Nightwing looked pretty ludicrous.

"You all right?"

"…Yeah." Superboy replied, not exactly with enthusiasm.

"How's the fight going?"

"Donar's back in the fray. Seems to be doing well for now…better then I was." Superboy said. Nightwing's brow furrowed.

"Conner, look. All that's happened is irrelevant. You don't have anything to prove to anyone. If you can do it you can, and if you can't you can't."

"It doesn't feel like that Dick. It feels like I'm hanging out with my best friend's brother and his friends…and I can't say or do anything right."

"Conner, you've helped save our lives, several times in some cases, in this fight alone." Nightwing said. "Look, I know it's hard. Back when it started, I knew all about feeling like a lesser just because of my age. But times have changed. And so should you. Stop looking at me like I'm a statue in the hall of heroes. I'm a Titan, and so are you. There is no difference between us."

"Yes there is. Your team succeeded. You never did anything wrong. Me…mine fell apart, and when Luthor took me over…" Superboy said, and would have continued in that vein had he not sensed something. In his pocket. A heat.

"…what's happening?" He said, as he fished inside it…and came out with the crystal. The crystal, which would point them towards their target, before they had been distracted by the sudden arrival of their guests. Superboy was amazed it hadn't been smashed in the fighting.

Nightwing took it…and then it happened, as a field of blue suddenly swirled around them, a multi-fragmented mirror appearing from the ether…and then on it, memories.

Of many familiar figures, all from different times.

"…Huh." Nightwing said. "Whatever this crystal is, it must react to emotional memories."

Indeed, what the sudden blue facets were showing was Dick's life, from many points in time. The Titans, Batman, and others in between.

Nightwing allowed himself around 1 ½ seconds to reminiscence, then a loud bang reminded him the battle was still going on.

"Look Conner, what I'm trying to tell you is to stop being so hard on yourself. When I was younger, with my Titans, I was the same. I grew up with them. I made every mistake every one of us did. But at the end of the day, we always pulled together. We trusted each other. Despite what happened with you, despite your so-called honorary status…you're a Titan. And I do trust you Conner."

Nightwing handed back the crystal.

"Start trusting yourself."

Conner took the crystal…and the facets changed. Now the memories were Conner's…the bad, AND the good.

And he thought of Nightwing's words. And of Scorched Earth, telling him that whether by design or accident, evil was as evil did. And of trust. After Luthor, he'd almost forgotten how to. And before that, well, that wasn't all wine and roses. Sometimes, maybe too many times, he trusted himself too much. He'd been arrogant, too cocky. It had led to a few friendships dying and the splintering of his own team away from the 'Honorary Teen Titan' banner…but even with that, he'd learned. How to care, about his friends instead of just himself. About Cassie. And how despite all his strength, everything that he'd lived through with them had made him stronger still. Made him…

"Ready for tomorrow." Superboy thought out loud.

"What?"

"…Oh, nothing. I was just remembering something…a bad dream, almost…" Superboy said, thinking of the dark future, his corrupted older self along with all the other older Titans, their hearts and souls dead, their minds consumed by the blackness that the other Superboy had accused them of revealing in…

And even as Conner thought it, it flashed across the facets. Nightwing looked fairly surprised.

"Maybe more then a dream. But I just realized. Kyra, her friends, they claim to be from the future too, and from the way they spoke I seemed to have been familiar to them, not as a fallen angel but merely a troubled one…and maybe that means…"

"In the end it doesn't mean much, Conner. The future, as I have learned, can be fluid. I've had my share of prophets and time travelers, Conner. All my life I've had people telling me what I'm going to be when I grow up. 'He's going to be Batman.' But that didn't happen. I found my own path as Nightwing. And if I've learned anything, from my time with my Titans, from my time with these ones…it's that the future isn't set in stone. The future…it's up to us."

Silence.

And then the crystal facets vanished.

"…You know, everyone's right about you." Superboy said. "You **_totally_** rule."

And then a massive shockwave shook the ground, staggering the two. Nightwing wasn't sure if it was due to another Earth crumbling or…

"You know despite the fact we were on the verge of a moment I just recalled we were having our rears handed to us by a homicidal future robot." Nightwing said, amazed that even now he could forget those kinds of things in the right circumstances.

"Oh yeah, that." Superboy said. "Well, shall we see what magic trick she pulls out next?"

"I think we may finally have a way to pull up her sleeves." Nightwing replied. "I realized something while watching that just might be a flaw in the robot's programming. If we can take advantage of it…"

WHAM! A body went flying into the air.

"And preferably FAST!" Nightwing yelled, and began talking.

* * *

Savior loved to fly. 

Swinging around was fine, but there was just something truly special about defying gravity totally, to look down on the Earth. Of course he had to be carried or be wearing some kind of machine, but it was still grand. No wonder some people insisted heroes were angels. The view was pretty damn similar. Maybe that was why Savior got all the God questions.

Maybe he'd be able to ask them personally soon, as gravity rudely reminded him that it was in charge here, not him, and started yanking him down towards the buildings of Jump City. Savior tried calling the Shimmer again and got nothing but the numbness, which had lessened but was still there. Savior had a feeling it was going to accompany him all the way to the end of his trip.

Well, he'd paid for his ticket, might as well see the whole show, as he turned around and looked down as he began to plunge.

"Of course there is the fact that I was fighting with a group of heroes in which at least half possess flying abilities, and it is pretty hard to miss someone getting thrown into the horizon like the mother of all javelin throws, so it is quite possible that my rescue is on the way and is just delayed. How delayed I do not know, but I assume that my chance of rescue are significantly higher then say, spontaneously sprouting wings. I suppose that is worth a try anyway. NGHHHHHHHHH. Nope, no good, though to be fair, I don't even know what muscle to flex." Savior said to himself as he fell, strangely calm. "It appears that my survival is in the hands of being rescued. I suppose the fact that I have escaped such situations before bodes well for me, but then again one must also take into account that the entire world is falling apart even as worlds literally do so above me, but then again the relative calmness of the view of the city I have is somewhat comforting, which means we did a good job in our protection and they think they're safe, that or they're so scared of us, or this, that they're huddling in fear in their homes. But I suppose such musings could be left to another time…" Savior said, as he approached the buildings: he was going to miss them and go straight into the street. "So, it appears that my attempt to sprout wings has failed, which leaves my survival in the hands of my potential rescuers, who need to arrive pretty damn soon because as I said I have been unable to sprout wings or any other anti-gravity talent, and hence cannot fly. So I need to be rescued. Because I can't fly. At all."  
Savior plunged past the buildings.

"Now would be good."

The street rushed up.

"Huh."

**_BLAGORSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

* * *

_**

Savior opened his eyes to find himself floating on a green pillow, and as he glanced to the side Kyra disassembled the green weird alien machine she'd used to fake the sound of Savior hitting the ground at terminal velocity.

"You can thank Mary for this. In the future after she merged with the Lord you tortured her so much with your paranoia that she eventually learned to sense you from far away so she could keep her distance. It let us pinpoint your landing space. Try and to remember that in the future, Dad." Kyra said, as Savior glanced over at Mary, who floated there, arms crossed and apparently none the worse for wear.

"I assume Viridian's rumors of your death were greatly exaggerated." Savior said.

"You know the Lord. You saw what he came back from. I absorbed his powers. I may not have mastered them, but you'll have to do more then blow a hole through me when I'm shadow to keep me down." Mary said.

"Point. Thank you."

"You'd have to say that about twelve billion more times to even begin making up for your crap."

"I'll start tomorrow." Savior replied, as he suddenly became aware that the numbness was gone. He concentrated, and the Shimmer emerged from his palm easy as you please. "Well, there you are. I wonder if you realize how close you came to being evicted." Savior said. "How's the fight going?"

"Badly. When Viridian originally changed she still had a base humanoid structure, but since we smashed her well enough to keep her down but not well enough to do so permanently, she appears to have recreated herself as mostly nanomachines. It's how she keeps adapting, replacing her ammo, repairing so quickly, and all that. What we're doing to try and damage her, even if she couldn't defend so well, she'd just grow back from it. We need a new angle. And we have one. It's a good thing you can still use that power Dad." Kyra said. "Dick's come up with a plan. From what he saw the thing that was once Viridian doing in the battle. How to possibly do something with it. And it's given me my own plan. So listen carefully…" Kyra said.

* * *

Donar was, after all, the descendant of a god, and probably should have done much better then he had earlier, something he was proving now with his skillful use of his hammer, letting him land numerous powerful blows. But despite all that, OMAC Viridian's defenses just seemed too strong to break. Seeing how Donar had been one of the ones to pound her into a pile of spare parts when she originally changed, and knowing nothing of her primary nanomachine structure now (and where had she gotten that? Had it been a backup plan of Viridian's corrupted by the change? An OMAC original plan possible by future tech? The result of one of Superboy-Prime's magical crystal wall punches? Something else entirely?), it was inevitable that even he would get frustrated. 

And that made him fall right into OMAC Viridian's trap, as he dodged a laser blast and leapt up, bringing his hammer up and down…

And right into Viridian's newly initiated kinetic reroute field. She'd just waited for the right time to activate it.

That was the source of the body Nightwing and Superboy had seen flying upward, by the way.

"**_Godslayer fully reactivated. Initiating once more."_** OMAC Viridian said, as the rail cannon began to open up once more: it had taken a bit for the nanomachines to fully reconstitute another rail, but they had and OMAC Viridian was going to use it, and she had all her defenses set up in case anyone tried to interfere. "**_Accelerating to maximum impact level, ten trillion pounds per square inch. Chances of shot being fatal: 99.92 percent. Target locked, stunned state still preeminent. Initiating final phase…"_**

Had Brick Wall been on his own, he probably would have just charged in. After all, that was all he was good for, right? Just a big mutated body serving as host for a new brain, a brain rejected by its mother and the world, leaving him to isolate himself in pursuit of knowledge, knowledge that provided no comfort, and even when he made friends they ended up doing stuff like dying or suddenly turning into evil robots and maybe he should just charge in even if she turned the rail cannon on him even he couldn't handle such an impact but what was his life worth anyway…

But he wasn't alone. He was a Titan. And he was following a Titan's advice.

Superboy hadn't had much time to pass the message on, but Brick had understood it.

_Viridian keeps effortlessly disabling your attacks because she's already learned and devised protocols for all of them! But when you combined attacks and did something she didn't expect, it hurt her! But she adapted to it immediately! So you have to think of some kind of combination attack that she can't have predicted, and do it fast, because if we don't get her with those…_

Brick didn't need to hear any more. He knew what to do.

And in the end he even managed to think of something, as Yin coiled down next to him.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." Yin said, as he contracted himself into the tightest, densest ball he could, as Brick Wall picked him up.

And then he began to spin, much like a discus thrower, tightly holding Yin, able to spin surprisingly fast for his bulk.

"Are you sure…this won't harm you?" Brick yelled even as he spun.

"You know, I have no real idea!…Do it anyway!" Yin yelled, and braced for impact.

OMAC Viridian noticed the movement, but she paid it no attention: she could turn to it in three seconds when she'd shot this hero, who had to die. For the sake of the world, and it's people. They had to be exterminated. They were untrustworthy. Dangerous. Corrupt. All of them.

She was Omega O.M.A.C VR-1XX, and those were the words of her master Brother Eye. And for it, she would carry out her programming…

**_"Execut-"_**

But even her programming couldn't cover every variable, as with a roar Brick finally let loose, hurling Yin at OMAC Viridian like the lord and emperor of all dodge balls.

And while OMAC Viridian's defenses covered Yin's powers, they didn't cover a blow from him at this level because her computers had calculated that there was no way he could deliver it.

And he couldn't.

Not by himself.

The blow sounded like a thundercrack, and it happened: OMAC Viridian staggered…and fired, the shot already in the midst of going off, the rail flying into the air…and missing Donar by a shade under half a foot. It flew off into space, to who knows what a future.

Yin had violently ricocheted away from the strike: Brick Wall had lost him, but it didn't matter: his part was done, as OMAC Viridian's systems tried to analyze this new data, prepare safeguards, and initiate a new plan, carry out her mission…

But for all her power, she never truly understood her foes.

Mary appeared, having warped back instantly via the shadows, and raising her hands, she began to call dark energy above her, forming an orb that swiftly grew and grew…

They were Titans…

Metatron dashed past her, even as Scorched Earth snuck up in the air and hid behind the rapidly growing sphere…

And they could do anything…

OMAC Viridian saw the orb and her systems immediately began preparing a defense and absorption shield. If she absorbed enough of the attack she could unleash it in a nuclear blast like attack, that would surely cut down some of the weaker ones…

Mary finished the orb, the size of the average house, and with a yell, she hurled it at OMAC Viridian.

"**_Defenses fully activated. Initiating absorption…"_** OMAC Viridian said.

As Metatron ran up a cliff, leapt off it, and unfurled his wings to fly at the black orb, his hands glowing with golden power, even as Scorched Earth charged himself up…

Together.

"GYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Was the roughly equal noise the two made as they both fired their blasts of power into the darkness sphere.

OMAC Viridian saw the speed of the orb suddenly increase, and even as her computer posed a query on why, she suddenly saw the center brightening.

**_"Modifying…"_**

Too late, as the twin blast tore through the orb of dark power and slammed into OMAC Viridian, blasting her into the ground.

A second later, the sphere landed on top of her.

A massive mushroom cloud of black smoke erupted upward from the detonation of the giant attack, smoke Mary swiftly cleared with a wave of her hand.

OMAC Viridian rose from the crater she was now in: her attempt to adapt had compromised her initial defense and left her vulnerable, but that didn't matter, she was already repairing herself, analyzing and adapting new defenses, she could not be stopped…

Ragnarok touched down with Hex.

"This may not work. I've never really tested it before…" Ragnarok said.

"I know we have to hurry or she'll kill us all. Don't confuse me with the details." Hex replied, as her eyes and hands glowed bright pink. Ragnarok shrugged. The Catalyst he was about to use, the Golden one, in theory, could increase the power of other Catalysts. Ragnarok had thought maybe it would work with other metahuman powers…it was time to find out, as he clamped his hand on Hex's shoulder as the golden light added to her own.

"Then by my power, maybe your bad luck be amplified by the magnitude of seven trillion shattering mirrors!"

"HIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEE-YAH!" Hex screamed, as she let off a massive wave of pink energy, as the Titans got the hell out of the way.

OMAC Viridian did not, and the wave washed over her, causing her to spasm violently and then collapse once more on her hands and knees, blue electricity crackling on her form.

"**_C-Critical sye-sye-system error, all functions operating at s-s-s-severely reduced cap-pa-pacit-t-t-y, attempting fu-full scale re-pair-pair-pairs…"_** OMAC Viridian said, her shielding defenseless against the supercharged probability wave and far more compromised then before, everything was damaged and screwed up, but that wasn't enough, she was still getting it back, it was…

A shadow fell over her. OMAC Viridian looked up, which due to her severely scrambled computer, was all she could do.

Superboy had been the messenger of Nightwing's combine your powers (in new ways) plan, going from Titan to Titan. And he'd saved the best for last.

As Superboy and Potent managed to time their respective drops and introducing of Viridian to their fists at the same time Donar did likewise, in his case introducing her to Mjolnir.

The shockwave of power from the combined blows was so strong it actually blew all three of the older teens away, throwing everyone nearby through the air and nearly knocking over the Tower while cracking the island in half. People at the other end of Jump City heard the boom, and the docks nearby were buffeted by ten-foot waves for three seconds.

And then silence.

The Titans tried to get up, to see…

OMAC Viridian. Smashed to bits.

But standing.

And coming back together.

"**_Ca-cannot be destroyed. Mus-mus-must carry ow-ow-out Protoco-all-all…Truth and Justice…cannot…cease…"_** OMAC Viridian said, even as her parts kept reassembling, even if they left she'd just follow them, like she had to the past, because she had to, it was the only way…

And then Kyra dropped down nearby. OMAC Viridian swiveled its head to look at her, and even as Kyra stood there, her ring scanning away, she could swear she saw the wheels turning in those red eyes, already analyzing and preparing a way to kill her, because she was a hero and therefore had to die.

**_"Will not staw-aw-aw-op…Targets…dang-er-er-er…to world…to humankind…must…terminate…for sake…of future…"_** OMAC Viridian said.

Kyra raised her hand, as her ring glowed brightly.

"The most tragic part of this is, you actually, truly, believe that." Kyra said.

The last part of Viridian returned to her body.

And half a second later her form was completely encased in green energy, lifted up off the ground.

**_"In-ni-nitializing…"_**

"Stand down soldier."

And then with a scream, her ring shone as bright as the sun.

And then they appeared, orbs, springing forth from OMAC Viridian's body, hundreds, thousands, tens of, hundreds of, millions, expanding out, filling the air, covering the island, the water around it, surrounding the surprised as hell Titans, even as they just kept coming, and coming, even as Kyra fell to her knees, a low scream coming from her mouth, as blood erupted from her nose and ears, as they just kept appearing, on and on, a countless number of them…

And then stopped.

They hovered there.

Ragnarok could not so much see it as sense it, in each orb an unfathomable little speck that was somehow a computer in and of itself.

Kyra's eyes went wide as they suddenly went from white to red.

And then with a scream and a final spark from her ring, each orb contracted down to nothing, vanishing in a wave of inaudible pops and hisses.

Within seconds they were gone.

Kyra's hands fell to the ground, as she gasped for air, drawing deep ragged breaths…breaths that eventually slowed, as she lifted herself just to her knees again.

And then white began to pour from her nose, not liquid but energy, as it flowed out in a continuous line, the Shimmer, gathering in a dancing mass before her, and even as she watched it finished emerging it almost seemed to bow to her before it flew off.

It didn't have to go far, as it connected with an outstretched hand, entering into the body without leaving a wound, and as it finished Noel Collins, red hair a bit messy and his clothes in need of a change, flexed his hand and retransformed into Savior.

Kyra took one last breath, and then formed a mirror to look at herself.

"Aw man." She said, regarding her red eyes.

A slight clapping caught her attention, as the Titans all began to gather, and she looked to see that it was Ragnarok.

"Brilliant. We couldn't do any permanent damage because of the nanomachines, so you stepped in when she was all messed up, grabbed her, and used her ring to separate her into every single individual nanomachine so you could destroy them all separately, using the Shimmer to keep your brain from exploding from the sheer scope of the calculations. Something I could have done myself if I'd thought of it, and normally I'd be mad that you just jumped in at the end and stole the glory, but even I'm impressed with that. Well done."

"Um hello! I did something too!" Potent complained.

"Oh shut up." Mary said, kicking him in the ankle.

"I got that." Ragnarok said, using a brief bit of the White Catalyst to fix Kyra's eyes.

"Thanks. Everyone all right?"

"Well my outfit's seen better days, not to mention I feel like I've been run through a garbage disposal, but hey, that's always what happens when I run into you guys, so it's just par for the course and peachy keen." Metatron said sarcastically.

Ragnarok leaned over and put his hand on Metatron, and in a brief flash of light his outfit was fixed up as well as all his bumps, bruises, and cuts.

"…Can I keep you?" Metatron asked the artifact-wielder.

"Sorry, I'm under contract."

Raven appeared, being supported by, of all people, Hex. She still didn't look very happy when Noel came to assist her, but it seemed less then before. New experience may not erase memories, but it can sure do something.

"Now…that that is all done…" Kyra said, getting up. "How about we go find the guys who caused all this goddamn damage to time and space and kick their heads in in the hope that maybe we can go home and find that this was all just a bad dream."

"I hate to put a damper on that…" Nightwing said. "But I'm afraid that we have a new problem."

"What?"

"Kyra, you coming here, it was a help…but when your altered friend followed you…well, what was the first thing it did?"

"It sounded like it was…talking to…someone…" Yin volunteered as he came to the same conclusion Dick had.

"Right. It contacted Brother Eye. Who answers to Alexander Luthor. Which probably now renders the chance that we have the element of surprise to a number percentage lower then me beating that robot on my own."

"So what do we do? Call it off?" EJ asked.

"…Twenty minutes, max, to do whatever you can. Then we go. Even if they know we're coming." Nightwing said. "Anyone disagrees, well, the rest of the world could use help too."

No one did.

Nightwing wasn't surprised.

They were, after all, Titans.

* * *

Nightwing had no idea how right he was. 

Alexander Luthor didn't just know, he was watching even as Nightwing spoke, deep in thought.

"Alex?" Came the voice of the Psycho-Pirate, and Alexander couldn't help but feel irritated: as useful as Halden had been in the many moves that had set this up, he was such a pest that Alexander almost wanted to blast him with anti-matter and get rid of his whiny, needy voice. It was a good thing Halden was so malleable: considering his emotion-manipulating powers he would insanely dangerous if he were halfway competent.

"You didn't mention this. At all. You said you covered everything." The Psycho-Pirate said.

"I said I covered everything important, Halden. Even I cannot predict every variable, every possibility." Alex Luthor said. Indeed, he was a bit bothered by this sudden late introduction of such a factor…but only a bit. He was a genius without peer, he already had a defense planned. This new group of heroes from a future wanted to come and say hello? Alex Luthor would have one hell of a welcome planned.

"Brother Eye?"

**YES LUTHOR.**

"How many O.M.A.C'S do you have with you in your dimensional fold on your defense?"

**APPROXIMATELY 156,376.**

"Send three or four divisions down here, immediately. But keep them out of sight. For now."

**AS YOU COMMAND.**

"Alex, you saw. That group defeated some kind of supreme OMAC that came from the future, how could normal ones stand…"

"The normal ones have more then proven themselves, Halden, and there is a difference between one OMAC, even a supremely empowered one, and thirty to forty thousand. Now stop your worrying and prepare yourself. I will need you as well."

"You want me to fight them?"

_No, that would be foolish considering your general cowardice and incompetence._ Was what Alexander Luthor really wanted to say, but he didn't want Halden throwing a fit and storming off.

"No Halden. The Society, without my leadership, is massing in Metropolis. To ensure there is no interference, I will use my abilities to create portals to bring as many as I can here at the same time. To ensure they don't flee from the OMACS or end up fighting with each other, I will need you to direct them. You CAN do that, right, Halden?" Alex Luthor said.

"Well um…yes I think so."

"Good. Then you have nothing to fear, Halden, let alone I." Alexander Luthor said. "Think of it. Had this been a true threat, it would have come by surprise. But it did not. Events led to the fact that I learned of it in advance. As if I was meant to know. Which means what I am doing is right, and cannot be stopped. By any and all of the so called heroes of this and all the worlds, let alone some group composed of the vomit of a fragment of time."

"I'm not sure Alex."

"Yes Halden, I know. That is not your place." Alex said, as he stepped onto his flying platform and began rising up the length of the golden tower that had brought back Earth-2 and then the Multiverse, the focus for his power and his future. "Now leave me be, speak only if they have arrived and I have somehow not noticed. My time cannot be devoted to such minor things." Alex said. "The Perfect Earth is within my grasp. All I must do…is properly seize it."

* * *

It was amazing the Tower was still standing, but it was, and the group was back in it. Ragnarok's Catalysts had taken Raven's usual place of healing and had even fixed up their outfits (though Nightwing had still swapped his shredded old outfit for his usual one). And Superboy once again found himself at the window, not looking out at the Earth below and the ones above, but at the crystal. 

"You know…" Came a voice, and then Scorched Earth popped up nearby. "Before we came here Kyra told me I was co-leader with her…but I realize this was probably just a figurehead, in case the introductions didn't go well. Mary's the co-leader if anything. I could be insulted. But I'm not. Why is that?"

"Because you don't see it that way?"

"Right. Look Conner, like I said, maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about. But I saw you out there. I'm the former villain, and that's the first time I ever fought for anyone except what I wanted. You were ten times what I was. I know in the end you have to convince yourself, but I'm convinced. You're a hero. Take that as you will."

And with that Scorched Earth flew off to converse with the others.

Conner went back to looking at the crystal that would lead them to the masterminds behind this, and to a war that might make what they had just had look like a playground school fight.

…In many things, Conner was still undecided.

But he knew one thing.

Today was done.

It was the beginning of tomorrow.

Whatever that may be.

* * *

Noel found Kyra by Raven's bedside. 

Her room looked very strange brightly lit, but Noel didn't much notice that. Raven lay under the covers, peacefully. She was unhurt but utterly exhausted, and she and him and both agreed that she would probably be more of a liability in her current state. Indeed, she'd fallen asleep almost as soon as her head had hit the pillow.

Her future daughter watched over her.

"You're still an asshole in my time, you know." Kyra said. Noel looked at her and said nothing.

"A control freak too. Especially when I entered my teens. You ever kept the freedoms you gave me under control, though I never realized it. And my dates, forget it! Easier to defy the Inquisition. For a long time, I really didn't much care for you, your choices, and your mindset. I still don't. But now…I think I've finally begun to understand it. And you."

Savior didn't say anything.

"You were harsh, and merciless. But you were never unfair, or cruel. You held nothing back despite me being your only child…but you never hurt or punished me for anything other then I deserved. And as much as I cursed you, me and my friends…I have a feeling that if anyone but you had been my father, this ring wouldn't have chosen me. For that, at least…I understand. And I'm grateful."

"…How did you get that?" Savior asked.

"Remember the Appelaxians?"

"Somewhat before my time, but yes, unpleasant aliens, invaded Earth, big fights, is considered the defining moment in the formation of the first incarnation of the Justice League, those aliens."

"They took a second crack at us. Another giant fight. In one of them…John Stewart died a hero."

"The best way to die."

"His ring chose, of all people, me. No one was more surprised then I was. Especially when I somehow passed the training and they let me keep it. Just so you know, I gradated sixth in my class of eleven."

"Those other five must have been really something then." Savior said.

Silence.

"You do know that by coming back here, you may have negated the events that gave you that ring. Or your very existence." Noel said.

"I know. But if I'd sat with my thumb up my butt, I could have very well done the same thing."

Silence, again.

"…Tell me one thing…"

"You never gave it up."

Kyra glanced at Noel.

"You more often then not carried it around like a big wheel around your neck, and sometimes you even bitterly lamented it…but you never stopped teaching me the whole point of this, as intangible and as maddening as it can be. Because you never let it go. I have a feeling, when I say goodbye, it'll be the last thing I see in you."

Once more, silence.

"I suppose there's nothing I could say or quote then that you wouldn't know."

"Nope."

"Then I guess you know what I'm going to say we need to do."

"Yep."

For the last time, silence.

Noel leaned down and kissed Raven on the forehead.

"May you wake up in a better world, in any way it can be." Savior said, and stood back up. Kyra had already done so, and she fell into step beside him.

"Let's go fight the good fight." Noel said.

"Let's." Kyra replied.

And so they left the room.

* * *

"All right then. Everyone good to go?" Nightwing asked. 

No words. Just nods. Or expressions.

"Ok then. We should have enough time to work out some basic battle plans on the way there, but we probably won't have time to whip anything fancy. Just so you know. Everyone?"

Nods again.

"…Let's go Titans." Nightwing said, and off the group went.

"Well, at least I feel more good-scared then paralyzed-scared." Yin commented to himself.

"Of course you do. You have to feel good." Metatron replied. "After all, nowhere to go but up. How could things get any worse?"

* * *

Tokyo, Japan. 

Considering how often it was destroyed in movies, it's not surprising there was disaster there too. But there were heroes as well.

"Kimiko!" Said the Japanese hero Rising Sun, addressing the female Dr. Light by her real name as they tried to assist the populace. "I am receiving data from what few computers remain on-line! Seventy-two percent of all volcanoes along the Ring of Fire are erupting!"

"Then we continue the evacuation, Rising Sun, as quickly as…!" Dr. Light II began responding.

She almost didn't notice the noise, she'd heard so many loud ones, usually caused by explosions, that this was just par for the course…except it wasn't. This wasn't an explosion. It was a sonic boom.

And it was quickly followed, on the ground, by a burst of golden light.

_Red cape torn to tatters…_

And from the light came a man, a man in red and gold, lightning emblazoned on his chest and golden wings adorning his head.

The Flash.

_Blue costume, so alike…_

"Nkkk…I…I made it." The Flash said. But who was this Flash? The voice was inconclusive, and the outfit seemed almost retroactive. It was impossible to tell if it was an old face or a new one.

But that didn't matter. Far graver matters were afoot. Far, far graver.

"I'm back…" The Flash wheezed.

_Covered in cold armor, adorning such a powerful frame…an armor terribly familiar in its design of a threat that perhaps the wearer has surpassed…_

"Flash?" Dr. Light II said as she dropped down, quite surprised. She'd heard snippets of info…

And then she gasped as the Flash, whoever it was, reared up and grabbed her in a death grip, the grip of the mortally afraid.

"You have to tell them! Find them! Warn them!" He babbled.

_Skin turned as gray as ash…_

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Light II asked in genuine confusion.

"**LISTEN TO ME!**" The Flash begged. "We couldn't hold him! **HE'S ESCAPED! HE'S COMING!"**

_A symbol of such greatness, backgrounded in black as deep in the rot in the heart and soul…_

"Who? Who's coming?"

_And eyes of red…of power, of destruction, of unbelievable rage…_

**"HIM!"**

_Eyes that will sear a universe…eyes in the body of a god among gods._

_Eyes of evil._

**_"SUPERBOY-PRIME!"_**

God have mercy.

* * *

Metatron created by the author Prisionero. Ragnarok and Yin created by the author Chaltab. Hex 'created' by the author Ultra Sonniku. Thank these guys by reading their work. 

_To be continued._


	6. War: The Brave And The Bold

_**War**_

Writer's Note: I have received a few comments on how some aspects of my story are confusing, which is understandable. Despite my lengthy explanation (see Chapter 2), we are still only examining one aspect of a picture in depth, while I refer to others aspects of it in both direct and oblique ways. So I will begin with another brief explanation, which fills in a few gaps in the background revealed since the original writing and picks up from the conclusion of the first one. Hopefully this will clarify the picture for some.

_Then I: Heaven_

In the closing moments of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, only three soldiers remained in the final battle with the Anti-Monitor, whose last thrust in the storyline entailed pulling the planet Earth into his anti-matter universe to destroy it once and for all. Though the battle had badly wounded the Anti-Monitor, the nature of it had forced all the other heroes to flee back to the positive matter universe, aided by Alexander Luthor Jr, a crucial part of the Crisis (see original Crisis on Infinite Earths summery), whose managed to use his positive and anti-matter powers to transform his body into a portal large enough to push the Earth back to where it belonged, the heroes following. In the end, only three remained: Alex Luthor Jr himself, who could only close the portal by sealing himself in the anti-matter universe, and two others.

Kal-L, the Superman of Earth-2, the Golden Age Superman (hereby called Kal-L: his modern counterpart is named Kal-_EL_), whose world, past, and all that he loved, including his wife, Lois Lane-Kent, had been erased in the combining of the five core Earths into one, his own existence preserved only because he was at the dawn of time during the battle between the Anti-Monitor and the Spectre which triggered this (see Crisis Summery for details).

And Clark Kent, Superboy-Prime, the sole hero of Earth-Prime, whose powers triggered even as the Crisis began, the young teen unable to do more then the bare minimum with them before his Earth was destroyed, leaving him the sole survivor as he joined the side of the heroes late in the game.

Despite both being literal Supermen, and the Anti-Monitor's greatly weakened state, it seemed that they could yet lose the day…and then the final factor entered the fray. Darkseid, dread lord of Apokolips, used his supremely advanced technology to 'tap into' the eyes of Alexander Luthor, and then used the connection to direct a blast of his devastating energy attack, the Omega Effect, out through Alex Luthor's eyes, striking the Anti-Monitor a devastating blow. Though the Monitor made one last ditch effort afterward, one final titanic blow from Kal-L finally ended the battle, as the Anti-Monitor's remains tumbled into a star.

Unfortunately, this had the nasty side effect of making the star go nova, the Anti-Monitor's unique makeup causing the eruption to send out shockwaves of antimatter force that even the two Supermen could not run from. And in truth, neither wanted to: all they had loved was gone, they had nothing to return to.

Or so it seemed. Alexander Luthor revealed that with the last of his dimensional portal powers, he had, before the combining of the Earths, allowed Lois Lane-Kent to hide within his own body, protecting her from being erased. And even as he revealed this fact, he spoke that with no place left for them in the Post-Crisis world, these four could instead use Alexander's body to enter a paradise. And in the end, that was what the four did, escaping the antimatter shockwave, even as Alex Luthor promised that, where they were going, there would be no fear, just "peace…everlasting peace."

Unfortunately, even Alexander Luthor Jr, a true genius if there ever was, had no idea how wrong he would be.

_Then II: Reality_

While Alexander Luthor did bring the four, including himself, to a truly exceptional plane of existence, the dire nature of the events surrounding his discovery of it, all of which demanded most of his attention, most likely ensured that he did not have time to examine it. And that would mark the beginning of the turn.

The dimension the four entered, the 'paradise', did not have the 'facilities' of what some would dub 'traditional' paradises. The plane of existence the four had entered, though, did possess two very important to note-factors.

1) The dimension reacted to their emotions and thoughts, forming whatever they thought or felt. But as Alex Luthor later mused, the surface of blankness always remained the same, only papered over. And something else…

2) A 'magic crystal wall', which consisted of a massive length of 'mirrors' so to speak, on which could be viewed any aspect of the past, present, and future, like a kind of omnipresent video player, allowing the people within the paradise to watch whatever they chose. However…

The flaw immediately became apparent: the main factor of the paradise required input. And in the end, only Kal-L and Lois Lane-Kent, having lived long lives together, could properly exist in the place: they had each other. Superboy-Prime, on the other hand, only had his brief memories, of his childhood and adolescence and the brief moment he had powers on his planet before it was destroyed in the Crisis. Alex Luthor, having existed almost entirely as a weapon to stop the Crisis (see Crisis Summery), did not even have that: as he said it "I went from conception to deception in the blink of an eye". The rift quickly became apparent: in terms of what paradise this dimension could provide, Alex Luthor and Superboy-Prime were left out in the cold.

And being only human, in time, that grew to affect them as it would humans, as Superboy-Prime watched his happy memories and times over and over on the crystal wall, and Alex Luthor, left alone with his minimal thoughts and the memories of others, began to grow immensely frustrated with this form of existence, and in that began his fall…

Perhaps worst of all, time did not flow in this dimension, it gathered instead (hence the crystal wall showing memories and events from all points of it). Alex Luthor and Superboy-Prime would be forced to exist in such a state for eternity.

And as Superboy-Prime himself began to grow frustrated with the existence he had as well, even as Alexander Luthor noticed his anti-matter powers, having vanished in the defeat of the Anti-Monitor, were beginning to return, the young man, his mind starting to crack apart, finally began to hit on a supposed 'answer' to his and Prime's existence in the dimension, ie just WHY they had come to this 'paradise' if it did not serve them as it did Kal-L and Lois Lane-Kent. When Luthor transported the four (himself included), what he had never revealed was that beforehand, while hunting for a way out of the anti-matter universe before the shockwaves destroyed them, he had in fact discovered TWO portals: one lead to their heaven and one lead to what appeared to be hell. The choice seemed obvious at the time, but as time passed in the dimension and Alex Luthor had nothing but his thoughts, he began to reexamine his decision, and via the crystal walls of time, discovered Darkseid's hand in the final moments…and how Darkseid's 'linkup' to Alexander Luthor may have caused him to see Apocalyps and misinterpret it as hell. And from his time in the dimension, Alexander Luthor had noted that while Apocolyps, while indeed like hell, could also lead back to Earth, the new Earth formed in the wake of the Crisis, something that could not be done in this paradise dimension that Alex and Superboy-Prime now found themselves 'trapped' in.

The final straw came from Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime's observations of the merged Earth, and how after the Crisis had subsided it had seemed to enter a period of great darkness, where the heroes grew darker and the villains became even more malevolent (The reasons for which, as explained in the previous explanation, was ultimately due to the 90's XTREEM movement in comics and the way it affected all aspects of the business, see summery in previous explanation). Angry at the way the Earth was acting after he had sacrificed so much for it, resentful of his lack of any kind of love or memory, Alexander Luthor finally hit upon a plan to change it all, though exactly where it convalesced in his mind is debatable.

But something beforehand must be noted in the possibility: despite no time passing, it was clear that Lois Lane-Kent was started to fade, something she accepted: she was human, and old. It was not something, however, that Kal-L could accept, and with Alex Luthor's resentment perhaps tingeing his studies of the elderly woman, Kal-L began to think that his wife's weakening was due to the paradise, some flaw within it, rather then just the inevitable: even in the world of comics, everything died eventually.

In the end, Alex Luthor wanted to be free, and after inadvertently angering Superboy-Prime, he was given a way to do so, and more, as Superboy-Prime angrily punched the crystal wall of time, striking out in blind rage…and whether due to the nature of the wall itself, or Superboy-Prime's immense strength, or a combination of the two, he shattered the wall…and caused aspects seen on the wall to CHANGE. The effect was dubbed 'continuity waves', as Superboy-Prime's punch literally caused time and space to alter itself before Alexander Luthor's eyes.

It also caused a backlash within the dimension itself, a backlash that affected one person in particular- Lois Lane-Kent, causing her condition to worsen.

But Alex Luthor didn't care. He'd seen a way out. And from there on, there was no turning back.

(Supposedly, Superboy-Prime could cause these 'continuity waves' because when the Multiverse was combined back into one universe, it was not fully stable, possesses glitches and paradoxes, and hence open to such 'corrective forces', which is what Superboy-Prime's punches were: the universe using it to 'sort through' the conflictions and fix them. In reality, Superboy-Prime's magical crystal wall punches were the writers' attempts to clean up conflicting ideas, retcons, and the general messes of comics that had accumulated from the problems in the first Crisis, during the XTREEM era and in general, as the punches were said to have caused everything from resurrections (Jason Todd) to 'resets' (multiple origins, people somehow forgetting established teams, and so on)).

Alex Luthor put Superboy-Prime on the task of trying to escape their dimension by punching his way through the crystal wall, and in the process hid the course of action from Kal-L by blaming Lois' deterioration on the paradise dimension, even trying to get him in the fold by claiming it fed off their souls and that Lois might have a better chance in the actual universe. In the end, Kal-L denied the course (much as he denied that Lois was dying, and denied her acceptance of the fact), and Alex was forced to keep him in the dark, even as he tried to utilize Superboy-Prime to escape, promising him that they could create the perfect Earth when they did so, not an easy task as the Kryptonian teen's years of solitude, lacking proper guidance to help his development, were beginning to warp his mind. Alex Luthor was, however, a genius, and he was ultimately able to manipulate Superboy-Prime's pain, doubts, fears, and resentments to keep him hammering on the crystal wall, sending more ripples of change through the DC universe and timeline and further weakening Lois Lane-Kent. Alex Luthor did not care: he believed he was altering the reality for the good of the universe, of a universe that had spit in his face for falling so badly after all he'd done to save it.

Unfortunately, Superboy-Prime grew frustrated with his efforts: the paradise dimension had no yellow sunlight, which is what amplified his powers to their highest levels, and without that it seemed like he would never be able to punch all the way through. However, Alexander Luthor had another option: his returning anti-matter powers. Granting them to Superboy-Prime, the teen finally achieved the necessary strength to smash all the way through the crystal wall barrier (causing who knows HOW much damage to the DC universe) and finally escaping the paradise, giving Alexander Luthor access to the DC universe and the Post-Crisis Earth.

He left as a hero. He returned as a human being.

It would not be a good change.

_Now: Hell_

Alexander Luthor's great intelligence, along with the omniscient observing abilities the crystal wall of time allowed him to possess (as he could move back and forth between our world and his dimension at will), allowed him to play the very definition of a mastermind as he put his plan into action: find the perfect Earth. By any means necessary. And with Superboy-Prime serving as his strong right arm, and Kal-L far too distracted by his wife's continued weakening and completely in the dark with what Alex was doing, Alexander Luthor did quite a bit, including…

1) Superboy-Prime, using his IMMENSE superhuman strength, transferred the planet Rann into Thanagar's solar system. This sparked the Rann-Thanagar War and moved the center of the universe away from Oa.

2) Alex started the new Secret Society of Super-Villians as Lex Luthor. The close proximity of his theta-brainwaves made the real Luthor go crazy. It's theorized this is the reason he gave up the Presidency and LexCorp to run around in an Apokoliptan battle suit for his showdown with Superman in _Superman/Batman_.

3) Alex also recruited the Psycho-Pirate, who gave the black diamond of Eclipso to Jean Loring, who in turn seduced The Spectre into destroying all magic.

4) Superboy-Prime destroyed the JLA watchtower and took the Martian Manhunter.

5) Alex stole control of Brother Eye from Batman. This gave him control over the OMACs and Checkmate's files on all the meta-humans.

All of these events, and various fallouts from them and the Identity Crisis incident (explained at length in the previous Explanation) triggered the storyline known as Infinite Crisis. As it begins, Alex Luthor, back in the paradise and continuing his manipulation, has convinced Kal-L that his wife's weakness is due to the corruption of his paradise, which in turn is due to the darkness of the current DC Universe. In turn, he convinces Kal-L that if they escape and carry out a plan he had outlined, they can 'save them all, including her' (her being revealed to be Kara Zor-El, aka Power Girl of Earth-2, who somehow escaped being erased during the original Crisis, hence maintaining her original origin after 15 years of confusion and retcons from previous writers), and that it is the only way. Completely unaware of Alex Luthor and Superboy-Prime's previous escapes and the fact they're actually to blame for his wife's condition, Kal-L smashes free of the paradise himself (how Alex and SBP hid their previous hole is not explained) and the four make their 'grand reappearance', though for two of them this is a lie.

While Kal-L retrieves Power Girl, Superboy-Prime and Alex Luthor, putting on a front of being the good guys, arrive in the Arctic with Lois Lane-Kent, in the area where Kal-L kept his Fortress of Solitude on Earth-2, area where they have either transported or created similar observing crystals that made up the crystal wall of time in the paradise. When Power Girl arrives with Kal-L, they speak of their supposed plan: to bring back Earth-2 to replace the supposedly corrupt and too dark Earth that the current DCU has. If they do so, the dying Lois Lane-Kent will be healed. Of course, Kal-L has no idea he's just a pawn in Alex's true scheme.

Meanwhile, the hero Booster Gold is playing his part: His best friend Ted Kord, aka the Blue Beetle, having been one of the first victims of this Crisis, and that is motivation enough. However, Booster Gold is also from the future, and hence knows a few details of what is going to happen in the Crisis, but far from all. He, on his journey, finds himself in the search for something: the Blue Beetle scarab. The original Blue Beetle was a magical based hero, but Kord, the second one, lost the mystical scarab that provided those powers and instead had to rely on technology. The scarab eventually ended up on the wizard Shazam's Rock of Eternity, and when it was destroyed by the Spectre, the scarab found its way into the hands of Hispanic teenager Jaime Reyes, attaching itself to him when Booster Gold tracks him down. Using his future based information, Booster Gold brings Jaime to Batman, as he knows Batman is attempting to locate his rogue satellite Brother Eye and Jaime, with the powers of the Scarab, which has transformed him into the new Blue Beetle (technically the third one) is the only one who can locate it.

Still in the dark, Kal-L goes to meet with Batman in part of the supposed plan to bring back Earth-2 (this is before Booster Gold brings Jamie to Batman), while Power Girl, back in the Arctic and unsure of the supposed plan to bring back Earth-2, inadvertently stumbles on a massive golden tower constructed of the remains of the Anti-Monitor in which several superheroes are plugged into, moments before being disabled by Superboy-Prime. Recovering, Power Girl (and the readers) learn of Alex Luthor's true plans (the information listed above was learned by the readers later), even as Kal-L continues to be misdirected, even though Batman's refusal and words said during it have made him begin to question Alexander's supposed plan. But Kal-L is too concerned for his wife to pay it much attention, and with Alex Luthor's plan and tower hidden away from Kal-L's sight, Alex Luthor begins to put his true plan into motion. Meanwhile, Superboy-Prime asks to go see Conner Kent, assumingly just to 'talk'…

Donna Troy has returned from death to play a major role in the Crisis, and she had lead a group of heroes into space, including the Titans Starfire and Cyborg, at first to help stem the Rann/Thanagar war and then later to try and deal with the strange rift in space, which as revealed is now the center of the universe due to Superboy-Prime's action and a nexus of Alexander Luthor's plan. At the moment though, the heroes are unsure of what to do.

And then, through a freakish manipulation of reality, as Alexander Luthor activates his tower, he inserts his hands into a rift in space, and before the Donna Troy lead heroes, a pair of gigantic hands emerge from the rift…

_And Forever: Together_

Superboy-Prime's 'talk' with Conner Kent resulted in a gigantic battle in which the Titans Pantha, Wildebeest, Bushido, Evil John, and Crazed-Buzz lost their lives, and many other suffered injuries. In the battle though, the Teen Titan Savior, through an attempt to stop Superboy-Prime, inadvertently read his mind and learn a majority of the information revealed above, information he was able to add to with his outsider perspective in his examination of the memories. The crazed teenager, his mind finally snapping, and his psychology seemingly possessing even greater power then Superman when under a yellow sun, was only stopped by the interference of the Flashes and Elijah Versaw, who pushed Superboy-Prime into the Speed Force. Only Elijah returned from the trip, and the Speed Force seemed to cease to exist in the process.

The heroes don't get much of a chance to recover, as Alex Luthor, aided by Brother Eye, begins Stage One and recreates Earth-2, instantly warping every single hero who was once a part of it and some who in theory would have been had the Multiverse continued to exist to it instantly. Kal-L and Lois Lane-Kent are also instantly warped there, much to Kal-L's joy.

The entity Nabu, who in combination with a mortal wearing the helmet of Dr. Fate forms said hero, in this case Hector Hall, aided by mystics the world over, sacrifices himself to finally contain the rogue Spectre, who is bonded to a new host: Crispus Allen, a detective from Gotham City who recently died during the chaos caused by Infinite Crisis.

Conner's hybrid body, terribly injured in the fight, begins to break down, forcing Robin and several Titans to try and locate a cure, a cure provided by, of all people, Lex Luthor. Once administered, Robin joins the other Titans in Bludhaven, destroyed by the Society, where they and other heroes attempt rescue and evacuation efforts. Conner, still recovering, does not join them: he instead goes to Smallville with his girlfriend Cassandra Sandsmark, Wonder Girl, whose own powers are fading due to the Olympian Gods fleeing from the DC 'realm'. They share some tender moments, while other heroes do what they can for the world. Conner leaves the next morning, recharged by the sun, while Wonder Girl stays behind due to her lack of powers.

Savior makes his way to Gotham to pass off the information he had acquired from Batman, who is assembling various heroes to deal with Brother Eye. Batman takes the information and Savior leaves immediately before he can see how well it's used, heading back to Bludhaven via car. He meets Raven in Gotham, and decides to use her powers to teleport instead.

While the heroes warped Earth-2 wonder how and why they're there, and notice how the planet is off in subtle and not-so-subtle ways (being completely abandoned for one), Kal-L is happy he and his wife are back, and how she indeed seems to be getting better…for a moment. Then she collapses, Earth-2 making her better having just been a lie, and as Kal-L looks on helplessly, she dies, as she was meant to. Utterly overwhelmed with grief, Kal-L bellows her name so loudly he shatters all the windows in Earth-2's Metropolis…and so loud Superman somehow hears him on Earth-1, as he immediately flies to investigate. But Kal-L, his viewpoint disrupted by Alexander Luthor, immediately attacks Superman, blaming him for bringing the 'sickness' of the DC world and corrupting Earth-2 and causing his wife's death, triggering a fight between the two men that only ends when Wonder Woman intervenes.

Alexander Luthor, his only companion the Psycho-Pirate now, comments on how this was always supposed to happen, and begins Stage 2 of his plan. The heroes in space see the massive hands emerge from the rift again, as Brother Eye locks onto Kal-L and activates program 'Earth Spawn', as Kal-L is, for some reason, the key to the next phase.

And with a blast of power from his 'tuning fork', Alexander Luthor blasts Kal-l and in doing so brings back the Multiverse, the Earths multiplying from two to countless thousands. Heroes still on Earth-1 vanish abruptly as their worlds are reborn. The sudden shift in reality also tears through Raven in mid-teleport and forces her and Savior back to the T-Tower to prevent from disintegrating. Nightwing happens to be there, attempting to gather the troops for his own assault on the problems of the world. But the world is in such a mess that beside Nightwing and the returned by accident Savior, the only one who joins them is Conner, who has just returned. The good news is, he has a shard of crystal, picked up and given to him by Lex Luthor, that will lead them to Alexander Luthor's location.

And more good news is coming. The effects of Infinite Crisis are being felt in all places and times, and in one, a group had decided to do something, as Raven's body serves as a portal to a group of Titans from the future, including a few children of the current members and several adult Titans from alternate timelines that have ended up in the same place due to all the abuse reality had suffered. Unfortunately, the good is followed by the bad, as an altered friend of these Titans, turned foe due to the fluxes in reality, also makes the trip backwards in time, engaging the newly formed group of past and future Titans in a titanic battle. The Titans prevail, but there are deeper consequences: the arrival of the friend turned foe has alerted Alexander Luthor to the group and their plans, and he had prepared significant countermeasures. That does not deter them.

…And so it stands.

Superman and Wonder Woman, along with Kal-L, have finally realized the crux of the matter. Their role in it has yet to be determined…

Batman heads for space, his group of handpicked heroes ready to tackle Brother Eye, at the forefront Jamie Reyes, the Blue Beetle, who may lead them to success or their doom…

In space, Donna Troy's group has had enough of sitting around. Including the Titans Cyborg and Starfire, they are ready to strike…

Raven rests in the Tower. She may yet play a role…

On the Earth, heroes race to save the day, including Robin, and his fellow Titans Beast Boy, Terra, Gauntlet, and Scalpel, with all their friends and allies. They are the next generation, and they have been taught well…

And in the freezing Arctic wastes, a group stands on an ice cliff, looking at a gigantic golden tower off in the distance, Titans young and old, from past present and future. They are on the front lines of the final battle for the fate of the Earth…

A battle that may yet not reached its most tragic phase…

In Tokyo, Japan, from a golden light, a Flash emerged, his name unknown but his words clear: they had been unable to hold him.

Superboy-Prime is back, clad in armor reminiscent of the Anti-Monitor, and a furious blind hate born of immaturity, repression, power misunderstood, and the manipulative hands of a black-hearted genius.

The final phase has begun. Blood will be shed. Hearts will be broken. Scores will be settled. Tragedies will occur. And the winner is forever in doubt.

But there is no doubt what this is. It is no longer anything else.

This is war.

Cry havoc and let slip the dogs…

* * *

_Part 1: The Brave and the Bold_

Space.

As a famous saying went, the final frontier.

But this spaceship was not the starship Enterprise: rather then a silver disc and body with two outreaching engines, it looked like, of all things, a giant blue beetle.

And the tune being whistled wasn't the familiar stanza of a long running sci-fi series, but something else entirely.

"Are you whistling 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game'?" Green Arrow asked.

"What?" Hal Jordan, perhaps the greatest of all Green Lanterns, replied: he HAD been whistling that tune, but the sudden question surprised him.

"You're whistling 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game'. What do hundreds of Earths in the sky threatening to destroy ours have to do with baseball?"

"Nothing. Just looking forward to next season. Starts next week." Jordan replied, in the easy vernacular of two long time friends. "Guy's got Yankee tickets on the dugout. You wanna go?"

"Heh." Green Arrow chuckled to himself, making a minor adjustment to his hat, even as he thought of what Guy Gardner, another Green Lantern as well as a real character, would be like at a ball game with a few beers in him. "Crackerjack's on me."

Needless to say, the Green Lantern and Arrow were just two of the very distinguished company that Jamie Reyes found himself in: the young hero was surrounded by veterans assembled by Batman for their mission. Along with Hal, John Stewart, another Green Lantern, was along for the ride, as well with Black Lightning, Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Black Canary, and Batman himself, all heroes for years, even decades. Indeed, even the 'rookies' of the group, like Booster Gold, the man who had brought him into this mess after he'd found that damn scarab only for it to attach to his spine and transform him into the clone of a Mexican wrestler, and a strange metallic woman with a bizarre face (one eye was blank, and one seemed almost drawn on, enlarged to a point where it was a step below comical, as if someone had tried to design the Brother Eye symbol as an actual eye) who hadn't given a codename but had been addressed as 'Sasha' by Batman and apparently had some connection to the satellite Batman had assembled the heroes to stop, carried themselves with poise and polish.

And it was all up to him, Jamie Rayes, whose problems three days ago had been passing geology and getting his curfew put back another hour, to make sure they even found the blasted thing in the first place.

Yeah, no pressure.

"So…uh…" Jamie said, trying to keep his mind off those details, as he glanced to his side at Booster Gold. "This ship belonged to your friend, Ted Kord?"

"Whoa kid. Eyes front." Booster Gold replied. "We need you looking front and center. We'll kick back with some astronaut ice cream and do intros and stuff after we find this satellite and blow it outta the sky. Sound good, Blue?"

"Stop calling me that!" Jamie replied, irritated at Booster's casual tone and the fact that he kept calling him Blue, after Blue Beetle, which Jamie really had no desire to be. Dammit, he hated feeling like he was the only one who had butterflies in his stomach: everyone else was approaching the mission like they were standing in line for a movie. "How can you act like all of this is **_normal?_**"

"It's not normal Jamie. It's **_history._**" Booster replied. "And we're here to make it."

Jamie's face, despite his new mask, could still be read like a book: he still looked more like he wanted to vomit then ride. Perhaps noticing this, Batman spoke for the first time in a while.

"Booster." He said simply. "You have no idea how to talk to kids."

"Pot, kettle Bats." Booster replied. Batman didn't reply: he'd sunk back into thought as he piloted the ship. Everything was in place. Hal and John would be the main offensive force, helping them make their way through the OMAC army that Brother Eye most likely had to defend himself (him, he was thinking of the satellite as him now, figured). The rest of the group would be used as various supporting and disrupting forces: Metamorpho would help them infiltrate, while Black Lightning, Black Canary, and Mr. Terrific would each serve as separate disabling elements, as would Sasha Bordeaux, a one time partner of Batman's who had later joined Checkmate and in the chaos surrounding Maxwell Lord's assassination and Brother Eye's ascension to its current threat status been partially turned into an OMAC, giving her a connection to the malevolent AI without the AI being able to control her in turn like a normal OMAC, a one way connection that Batman would be all too glad to exploit. Booster Gold and Green Arrow would guard the ship to make sure the heroes had a trip home, and Batman himself would hopefully be able to combine all these elements to strike a death blow on the terrible mistake he had made.

Of course, they had to locate the satellite first, and the only one who could do that was Jamie. Who of course had no idea what he was doing despite all the guidance. Trouble to be sure, but as Booster Gold had told him, from the future data he remembered, the record of this time said that Batman's attempt to find the satellite had failed. With Jamie's help, Batman would prove that data to be in error.

"I don't even know how the hell I got here." Jamie was talking again, babbling in the way the immensely frazzled do so their thoughts have an outlet rather then ricocheting around in their brain until there was nothing left but tapioca pudding. "Some kind of scarab crawled onto me and put this suit on me and now…I'm in space. With BATMAN. And my brain…feels like it's on fire…"

"…I know it's difficult." Batman replied: he hated giving advice, but desperate times…"But if Booster's right, you're the only one who can help us."

Jamie resisted the urge to laugh, as he turned to gaze out through one of the windows that the Beetle Ship's eyes formed again. "I'm doing the best I…"

And then he saw it.

"Hold up." Jamie said, as he gazed on the blue sphere of crackling energy he saw, floating out in space among all the Earths. "I see something."

Batman rarely felt relief. He did now…relief which fled quickly as Jamie's suit suddenly erupted with a glowing blue energy of it's own. It looked like despite not knowing what he was doing, Jamie's new power source had some idea.

"…I don't know what it means, but the Scarab…it's saying…the satellite's hiding between this reality and an artificial one. It says I can negate its…vibrational frequency?"

"Do it." Batman replied.

And the space before the ship suddenly erupted in a massive field of crackling blue power, as something began to emerge from what had appeared to be empty space.

Something gigantic.

"…Huh." Was all Booster Gold could say. "…It's a lot bigger then I thought it'd be."

Booster was putting it mildly. If the Beetle ship could be said to be the size of the average bug, Brother Eye, all gray metal and massive glowing red optics, revealed before the heroes, was the size of the average basketball.

As the ship suddenly ground to a halt, immediately, causing everyone to stumble a bit.

"The thrusters just shut down." Mr. Terrific reported.

"So did communications." Black Canary added.

It was quickly revealed communications had not been shut down. Just co-opted.

**HELLO CREATOR.**

Brother Eye had spoken via the ship's computers, as Batman stared out at the machine he had created, in a moment of weakness, weakness taken and used by a genius mind twisted to malevolence like so many before it. And like that many before it, Batman would do what he could to stop it.

"Brother Eye." Batman replied.

**YOU HAVE FOUND ME.**

"What are you doing?" Batman asked.

**EYE AM REMAPPING THE MULTIVERSE FOR THE ONE WHO GAVE ME TRUE LIFE. ALEXANDER LUTHOR.**

Batman's eyes narrowed, and for just one moment, he wondered if even if he survived this, if anything could go on the way it had.

No. There had to be changes. Never again. Never.

**EYE AM HELPING HIM CREATE EARTH AFTER EARTH.** Brother Eye continued to 'say'. **AND WHEN HE FINDS THE RIGHT ONE, THERE WILL BE NO NEED FOR YOURS.**

And then they appeared.

Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning, had thought he was ready…but when he saw them, his heart sank roughly to the level of his feet…for about a second.

Then electricity crackled around his eyes as he threw his brain into battle mode.

"We've got INCOMING!"

OMACS.

Despite the great number Alexander Luthor had siphoned off for his own use, they still filled the sky, endless legions of them, their blue/black armor offset by the glowing red eyes on their faces. The Omni Mind And Community, in all its power and glory.

**NO NEED FOR PEOPLE LIKE THE ONES WHO BETRAYED YOU AND TOOK YOUR MIND.**

And that, as Batman knew, was what they had done. It had been a terrible situation that had had no good answer…but Batman knew now he'd reacted in the wrong way.

And now he would do whatever it took to undo the repercussions of his actions.

"Green Lanterns. OUTSIDE." Batman ordered, as the legions closed in.

**EYE AM ONLY DOING WHAT MY CREATOR HAS ASKED.** Brother Eye spoke. **EYE AM ONLY TRYING TO MAKE A BETTER WORLD.

* * *

**

The Arctic.

"Doesn't look so hard." Potent said, as he scanned across the icy wastes to the gigantic tower in the distance. "There's only about a hundred or so of-mmmfffff!" Potent mumbled as Mary cut off his words by clamping a clawed hand across his mouth.

"This battle is due to be difficult enough lover: I absolutely will not let you add irony to it's gifts." Mary said.

"She has a point." Nightwing said, looking back at the group. "What we see here is definitely not what there is. We may not even be hidden to Luthor. He knows we're coming. All we can do is hope he doesn't know when and is distracted enough not to notice us."

"Right." Savior replied, shivering a bit in the cold. Though in some regards he was well off: Metatron and Yin both had weaknesses to cold, to the point where if Ragnarok hadn't used his Catalysts to modify Metatron's outfit, the teen would have frozen to death within two minutes, and even then, Metatron had to stay behind on a special 'area' of heated rock that Ragnarok had created with the Earth and Fire Catalysts. Nightwing had been hesitant to bring the two along considering where they were going, but in the end the need for bodies won out over the concern for their health. They were heroes, they knew the risks.

"I know you guys hate to hear me talk, but please, allow me this." Noel went on: the trip to get them all to the Arctic, even aided by Mary's teleportation abilities, had been long enough to allow everyone to exchange information and fill in blanks, and hence everyone had a pretty good idea of why they were there and just what they were up against. "Alexander Luthor may possess an incredible intellect, but he's also reaching the end stages of his plans. He's most likely stretching himself thin in at least a few ways. That's the only advantage we'll have. Unless if course by some miracle those hundred OMAC's really ARE the only ones surrounding the tower."

"Among other things." Nightwing said, looking at the Tower through long-range binoculars. "I also see a few of our friends plugged INTO it. We free them, we'll get even more extra help."

"You already got some."

And then Cassandra Sandsmark, Wonder Girl, suddenly dropped from the sky. Noel noticed she didn't startle any of the Titans: good, they were alert.

"Sorry I'm late."

"Cassie? What are you doing here? This is dangerous." Superboy said.

"Yes Cassandra, while we appreciate your effort, I recall hearing your powers were a bit uncertain…" Savior began, before Kyra punched him. "Ow."

"Dad, not everything needs to be questioned."

"I just don't want her getting hurt because she insists she can carry her part when she really…"

"I'm fine. I'm settled. I can handle myself." Wonder Girl said.

"If you say so Cassie. I guess we should just be glad for the sudden turnaround." Conner said.

Unknown to him, the words cut Wonder Girl, through no fault of Superboy's. They just reminded her what she had had to do.

_For months, it had gone on._

_Cassandra Sandsmark had become Wonder Girl through a chance meeting with Wonder Woman: that provided the motivation, while a couple of stolen magic Greek artifacts provided the powers. Long enough for Cassie to meet Zeus himself, face to face, where she, young and willful, had managed to wrangle a boon from him: she chose actual superpowers. And so she had followed in the footsteps of Donna Troy._

_But joining the world of the Amazons also meant she gained its drawbacks: her secret identity had been exposed when one of Wonder Woman's villains, the Silver Swan, had attacked her school, to bring up one incident. And then there was the world of the gods themselves, as Cassandra suddenly found herself being contacted and watched by Ares, the war god, who had given her her own golden lasso, of destruction rather then truth, and had constantly appeared to her since, giving cryptic comments which Wonder Girl now understood had pertained to this Crisis. But nothing had prepared her for the biggest revelation: that Zeus was actually her father. Though that helped clear up why he was amused with her, rather then annoyed. But it also made Ares her half-brother, adding an even more disturbing facet to their 'relationship'._

_And then this Crisis, her fading powers, during when she needed them most, having gone down to the point where Conner had left her behind in Smallville. And there…_

_Night had been falling. Thunder and lightning had rocked the area. And Cassandra had been standing in a field, looking at a small lake. The Kents had called to her to come in, saying the storm was getting worse, but she couldn't go. Not yet._

_She sensed him._

"_Ares." She said, looking at the pond. "Ares. I know you're watching me. You always are."_

_Lightning flashed, followed almost immediately by a blast of thunder, forcing Cassie to raise her voice._

"_I need to talk to you!"_

_And then he was there, his image reflected on the pond, completely covered in dark blue armor, a fearsome spiked and plumed helmet on his head with glowing red eyes peering through it._

"_Hello sister." Ares said._

"_What's wrong with my powers?" Wonder Girl asked, getting to the point._

_Ares did not answer at first, as he rose from the water, turning from reflection to reality, towering over the young girl. But he meant her no harm. Far from it._

"_The gods are retreating from this plane." Ares had said._

"_Does that include you?"_

"_Yes." Ares said. "Your strength, speed, and endurance will soon fade completely as well. Zeus, the greedy deity our father is, is taking all of his power with him. Including that of his mortal children." Ares had then mumbled something Wonder Girl didn't quite make out, but she dismissed it as unimportant, as Ares kept talking. "But I knew this day would come. I foresaw all of this. I knew you and your friends would be at the center of a great war, and that our father would desert you in your time of greatest need. But I can help you Cassie."_

"_How?"_

"_I can give you some of MY power. You can be my champion. You'll be stronger. Faster. More powerful then you've ever been."_

_Cassandra may have been in a bad spot, but she was no idiot._

"_What's the catch?"_

"_There's only one."_

_And then, of all things, Ares had removed his helmet._

_Underneath that demonic visage had been the face of a handsome blonde man…one who looked so very much like her._

_"Accept me as your brother. That's all I've ever wanted…a tether to this mortal world."_

She'd done what she had to do. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"It's still going to be dangerous." Yin helpfully pointed out at that time.

"Which means you need help, right?" Wonder Girl replied.

"All we can get." Nightwing replied. "Ok Titans, this is the last chance we get, so listen good…"

* * *

Earth-2. 

"Elementals! Oh how wonderful to see you again."

The group thought they had enough trouble with the skies filled with fragmenting Earths, but as it turned out, more was coming, as everyone turned their gaze upwards to the two figures in the sky. They'd finally found someone besides themselves. And they were going to wish they hadn't.

One was a man: his age was debatable, but at this moment in time he looked to be at about sixty, his thin silver wavy hair still managing to stay on his aging heade. He wore what looked like basic white battle armour of the police, with what looked like a lab coat underneath it (not exactly the best placed setup). A mechanical monocle seemed to be on one of his eye, but in reality it was just an exaggerated side of a pair of glasses. His smile was surrounded slightly by an unshaven face, a garden that had not been tended for a day. Said smile was not pleasant to look at.

The other was harder to see. It seemed to be a human figure, but its gender was difficult to tell, as the body of it was not made up of skin and bone, but white whiffs of gas that moved and shaped the creature, parts of it being see through. At this moment in time it seemed female, but soon enough it changed to seem male. It seemed to be keeping the more normal man in the air with it.

Scorcher's eyes widened as she saw the figure, the other Elementals equally apprehensive… actually scratch that, scared.

"Do we know you?" Wildcat said.

"Apparently not, our enemies dress better." Sand commented.

"You." Scorcher said.

"Oh my, I have to say my dear, from here I have the most wonderful view of your cleavage." The older man catcalled, taunting the southern belle/pyrokinetic. "But that is beside the point. I believe I only got the job half done last time I met you. Time to disassemble the other half."  
This was the Scientist and his near godlike minion the Air Elemental. The main enemies of the Elementals. Much like they had, the two had somehow ended up on Earth-2.

They were the one who had killed Rocko's original body and H-Duo, Scorcher's fiancée, and now they had come to finish the job.

Like hell.

"UAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Scorcher bellowed, sending a gigantic blast of fire at the two.

"Oh my. Not." The Scientist said, as the Air Elemental waved his/her arms, and abruptly the fire poofed out, the oxygen abruptly removed. "I would have thought you would have learned…"

And then a tiny object was tossed up next to them.

"Eh?"

Dr. Mid-Nite's Blackout Bomb exploded in their faces, prompting a cry of outrage from the man.

"I don't much care for those who turn their learned gifts against mankind." Dr. Mid-Nite commented.

"ARGH! KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" The Scientist screamed.

And so, like on Earth-1, the battle between good and evil resumed.

And not just there...

* * *

Earth-S. 

"One second we're in New York and the next we're on the set of 'It's A Wonderful Life.'" Captain Marvel Jr said, thinking out loud as he tried to make sense of what had happened and what he was seeing: he'd been helping out and then suddenly he was here, with his best female friend and fellow Marvel hero.

"In the middle of an earthquake!" Mary Marvel 'helpfully' added, looking at the destruction before them.

"Where the heck are we Mary?"

"Wherever we are Freddy, we need to help…"

* * *

Earth-97. 

"Green Lantern! Stop staring at the sky and give me a hand!" A female said. Another female wearing a white dress, a green cloak, and carrying a staff on which a literal green lantern dangled looked back at the speaker.

"If any of you wish to survive Flash, you will follow my light…"

* * *

Earth-247. 

"Kid Quantum! Cosmic Boy!" A flying alien said as she flew down to two others, as the Legion of Super-Heroes battled their foes all around them.

"Shakiri?" Kid Quantum said.

"I've finally found you…"

* * *

Earth-898. 

There were no words, as cowboys and Indians warred, perhaps because of, perhaps despite all the chaos around and above them…

* * *

Earth-1509. 

"Come on Titans! Grodd may have made an utter mess of this planet, but that's better then being no planet at all!" A giant female gorilla dressed in odd cloaks yelled as she pointed, as various apes that looked strangely like the teen heroes we know leapt forward to rescue more gorillas from a sink hole that had inexplicably opened up and was trying to swallow their whole city.

"We're with you Mockingbird!" "Beast-Gorilla" said, as he transformed into a roc and swooped down to grab a few apes in his claws…

* * *

Earth-0. 

"Yay! Planet am not breaking down! Misery!" Said a Bizzaro, as many Bizzaros smashed each other and celebrated as their world collapsed around them.

* * *

Earth-154. 

A gray at the temples Superman, a lot like Kal-L. A Batman. And a younger pair of boys, both looking to be in their teens, both dressed like Superman and Batman. Like fathers, like sons on this world.

And none could stop what was coming, as a massive golden hand was reaching down from the sky.

"Batman?" Older Superman said.

"I see it." Older Batman replied.

"What is it dad?" Batboy replied, as he suddenly heard words that rang as loud as thunder.

"This one is a possibility…"

The gigantic hand seized the Earth, grabbing it like a ball. The less said of what happened on the planet due to this, the better.

* * *

Earth-462. 

The only familiar face here is a woman who looks somewhat like Wonder Woman: the rest are unremarkable, as they battle each other in what appears to be a war, but which war is unknown: it could be the Civil War or World War II.

Some of them almost didn't notice the hand coming from the sky.

"And this one."

* * *

From a giant field of purple energy, the hands emerged, seizing the planets like they were toys. They pulled the planets back into the field…as the hands re-appeared elsewhere, from the same purple energy. 

Directly above the golden rift where the center of the universe now was, due to the actions of Superboy-Prime.

Donna Troy's assembled heroes could only watch in shock. Donna had assembled a truly mighty group, but even they seemed helpless before what they witnessed, the forces and events surrounding the rift having already killed or wounded several of their number, the group unable to think of a plan, and now they had to watch as the hands, the unbelievably huge hands, brought the planets down into the golden rift, even as the group, despite the vacuum of space, somehow heard a voice.

"Come now. To the petri dish."

And as many faces filled with astonishment and horror all over again, the giant hands rammed the two planets together.

They did not shatter into pieces, as one might expect. No. In the strange energies of the golden rift, they instead clamped together…and merged.

As the hands moved away, a new singular Earth was left floating there.

It was a defiance of virtually every law of space, time, and reality that existed. Hell, it probably invented a few new laws just so they could be broken.

"Friend Cyborg…" Cyborg heard Starfire say, and he looked to the alien. "I know it is important to present the strong face, but I must tell the truth: I am very, very scared."

"You and me both Kory." Cyborg replied. "No need to be ashamed. You and me both."

* * *

The Arctic. 

The Golden Tower.

Near the top, Alexander Luthor floated on his platform, looking out through his hole in reality (the purple enery field), one aspect showing the many Earths and the other showing the rift. The construction of the Tower, the raw magic used to power it, Superboy-Prime's machinations, and Alexander Luthor's own unique powers over positive and anti-matter and his unfathomable intelligence had allowed him to produce the affect just witnessed: he could stick his normal sized hands through the hole, and they would emerge in space large enough to seize planets, planets he would then combine in the rift in space, mixing and matching elements from the planets until he finally had the perfect one.

It seemed impossible, but Alexander Luthor was born as an impossible creature and had spent his short time of freedom doing one impossible thing after another. To him, impossible was almost passé.

Not that this was an easy task. Oh no, far from it.

And certain annoyances made it worse. Annoyances like Roger Halston, the Psycho-Pirate.

"Have you found it yet Alexander?" The Psycho-Pirate called up from where he was standing, next to the various heroes plugged into the Tower, their bodies necessary in the beginning to bring back Earth-2.

"Hn." Was all Alexander said, more to himself then to Halston, as he looked out through his portal onto another Earth, up close.

"Diana! The Superman Family approaches!" A Batman said: what really made him stand out was that he was dressed in what looked like a cross between his costume and the clothing of a person living in the Aztec empire, a mishmash that was also true for his companions (Robin and Wonder Woman) and those flying to face him (Superman, along with a Superwoman and Superboy).

"It will, Batman, with your death…!" The Super-Aztec was replying…

"No." Alexander Luthor said, both answering Halston and dismissing the planet, resuming his search for either the perfect Earth or elements for it.

Halston was talking again. Ugh. So useful and yet so GRATING…

"I can feel them. Phantom beings pulled from the fabric of Earth-1 and Earth-2. Pulled from their restful peace, reborn in pain and given essence…then destroyed." Halston said. While Earth-2 may have been abandoned except by those warped there, Alex Luthor's rebirth of the Multiverse had no such factor: every planet was fully populated. And with what Alexander was doing…

"Billions at a time." The Psycho-Pirate finished. Alexander was unmoved.

"I planted this garden, Psycho-Pirate." Alexander said, his current fused Earth floating near his right hand, near the rift. "I have every right to tend to it."

"But…" The Psycho-Pirate began, and then he made a slight noise of fear. "Alexander! They're here! Where are the defenses! You said…!"

"I know they're here Halston. I've known since they arrived." Alexander replied, not looking at the man. "The Tower only appears lightly defended. And you and I both know how deceiving appearances can be."

* * *

"Ok guys, remember: you may feel confidence after beating that Omega OMAC, but normal OMACS are different. They have people inside them. You need to disable the nanomachines that serve as the OMAC covering without harming the hosts: they didn't want to become OMACS and had no choice when they did." Nightwing said. "I have no real idea on vulnerable points, so just go for whatever would disable a human. Now, the fact that there are people inside is another aspect, which is why Ragnarok has formed his heated rock platform. It's more then to protect the ones vulnerable to cold. Speaking of which, how you doing back there?" 

"Don't feel like dancing, but this setup Collin made for me makes me a lot more effective then I would usually be." Metatron replied, knocking on his redesigned black suit, a Dark Catalyst re-imagining which allowed him to retain his body heat much better.

"This place will make me brittle, but I'll need to hang out on the ice for a bit for that to happen." Yin said.

"All right. Due to your weaknesses however, Metatron, you, Yin, and Ragnarok will be the rear guard. You're to pick up the people left from the disabled OMACS and bring them back to Ragnarok's heated rock platform…you can expand that as necessary right Collin?"

"Shouldn't be too hard."

"Ok then. To keep the rear guard protected, Hex and Brick Wall will serve as bodyguards. The rest of you are with me. We need to get to the Tower without leaving the rear guard too vulnerable, so remember: it's not just a charge straight ahead mission. And don't underestimate anything…including yourself. Now, since we really don't have any time, I won't allow questions."

"I have just one." Wonder Girl said. "Seeing how you think the Tower is more defended then it appears, is there any way for us to find out just how so?"

"…Collin, can you see if you can sense any cloaking fields with one of your Catalysts or…" Kyra began asking, and then stopped as she saw how Ragnarok had paled. "Collin?"

"…You wanted some kind of scan?"

"Well it could be helpful…"

"I just though I needed to keep these guys warm! Glomp! Why didn't you say so I could have…"

"INCOMING!" Mary yelled.

The beam still seemed to come from nowhere, arcing down from the sky. The team had no time to react.

As it pierced through Metatron's neck, blowing a hole the size of the average doorknob through it.

The demon collapsed, not even able to scream, as everyone stared in horror.

And then the beam was followed by others, many many others, a thousand red lines of death.

That struck a massive green shield, a shield that was reinforced by an aura of black power, but even that couldn't stop the beams as they sawed through and shattered the cliff of thick ice like it was made of Jello, the entire plateau falling apart…even as a group, aided by dark and Catalyst powers, rode it down as well, eventually settling back onto the ground.

A titanic wave of wind from a god's weapon and more dark power blew the massive ice chunks around the heroes away from the group, even as the green shield vanished, Kyra taking a deep breath.

Nightwing looked up, as the OMACS, who had remained cloaked until they had snuck up on the group and attacked, catching them completely off guard, came, more still uncloaking, a few thousand of them at least, following them down, Nightwing hearing a massive amount of spoken commands revolving around targets and tactics and processes and modifications and analysis and they were ready executeexecuteexecuteexecuteexecuteEXECUTEEXECUTE**EXECUTEEXECUTE_EXECUTE…_**

And Nightwing looked back at the heated rock that Ragnarok had managed to keep together, even as he, along with Yin and Hex, tried to tend to the terribly wounded Metatron, who thrashed and bled…

"…something…"

"Stop the blood flow…"

"Blew his whole windpipe up…"

"Oh god help…"

And the rage came to Dick Grayson, as he looked back at the OMACS and the Golden Tower in the distance. No more. No more death. No more pain. No more sacrifice.

"They'll PAY for this." Nightwing growled, as he snapped out his Escrima sticks, even as the Titans assembled. "GO!"

And the group charged, the OMAC's flying to meet them.

* * *

As young heroes went to war, to fight and perhaps even die on some godforsaken rock, an old hero looked down on the body of a woman he'd loved for seemingly his entire life and then took his head in his hands, wondering how he could have been so blind, so fooled, so wrong. He was meant to save people, and in the end he'd forgotten the foremost rule of that vow: you can't save them all. And as Kal-L agonized over what he had become, due to his own faults and Alexander's, he realized that even applied to his wife. 

And so he knelt there, among the ruins of a city, barely aware of the pain that Alexander's process had caused using him as the key to the return of the Multiverse, transfixed by a far deeper pain: the pain of regret, and loss.

And then he became aware of a presence. And as he looked, an offered hand.

"If we're at all alike beyond the uniform…" Superman said. "I know how much you loved her. And I'm sorry."

And Kal-L looked at his younger alternate, looked at him for perhaps the first time in a long time, saw the sympathy and empathy. The humanity.

Poisoned? Corrupt? Flawed?

No more so then him.

Kal-L took the hand, getting to his feet.

"I made a horrible mistake." He said.

"We've all made mistakes, Superman." Wonder Woman said. "But it's not too late to learn from them."

Wonder Woman was tired: she seemed less affected, if at all, by the fact the Gods were leaving the plane, but she'd been through a lot in these past few months, and even someone like her had her limits. But for now, there were more important things, and with sword and lasso at her side, she'd be ready. But for now, words were needed.

"You realize if you replace our Earth, you'll be throwing away the good with the bad."

"Maybe…but…how can you still have faith in your Earth?" Kal-L asked.

"Because they still have faith in us." Superman replied.

Kal-L closed his eyes. For a moment, he thought it all over again.

And the last of his doubts faded, as he opened them again.

"We have a job to do." He said, as he knelt back next to the body of his deceased wife again. Saying goodbye, one last time. "Your Earth has been splintered back into a multiverse made up of thousands of worlds. But the multiverse is unstable. The Earths will become weaker and weaker as they're divided. And if they aren't brought back together soon, the entire universe will explode in a new big bang. **_EVERYTHING_** will be destroyed." Kal-L said gravely. "We need to get back to Earth-1 to stop it."

And Wonder Woman gazed to the sky…at the hundreds of Earths, some still self-destructing and colliding in horrendous carnage, a needle in a field of needles.

"…Which Earth is Earth-1?"

* * *

What had once been Viridian had been a good OMAC, immediately establishing a connection with Brother Eye and feeding every bit of data she had and had acquired before her untimely end. Brother Eye had added the data to the metahuman files all OMACS carried, and even as the army of cyborgs came from the air, they were all analyzing the targets before them. 

**_Subject Alpha: Superboy. Conner Kent. Omega Strength, Alpha Speed, Alpha Endurance, Flight, Energy Blasts, Mental Powers (Tactile Telekinesis)._**

_**Subject Beta: Nightwing. Dick Grayson. Gamma Strength, Beta Speed, Alpha Agility, Alpha Martial Arts, Alpha Weapons.**_

_**Subject Alpha: Myth. Kyra Collins. Omega Weapons, Beta Telekinesis, Gamma Telepathy.**_

_**Subject Alpha: Donar. Donar Magnison. Alpha Strength, Omega Endurance, Flight, Omega Weapons (Ancient hammer, wind controlling properties, other abilities unknown).**_

_**Subject Beta: Scorched Earth. Jack Andrew Drake. Omega Energy Blasts, Beta Strength, Beta Speed, Flight.**_

_**Subject Alpha: Ragnarok. Collin Last Name Unknown. Variant manipulation abilities in several vectors ranging from Beta to Omega. More data required…**_

_**Subject Alpha: Potent. Elijah Versaw Jr. Alpha Strength. Omega Endurance. Omega Speed (Disabled). Delta Manipulation (not verified).**_

_**Subject Beta: Brick Wall. Brick Doe. Omega Strength. Omega Endurance.**_

_**Subject Beta: Yin. Name unknown. Beta Shapeshifting. Epsilon Martial Arts. **_

_**Subject Alpha: Nightmare. Mary Hastings. Ability classification incomplete: demonstration of Strength, Speed, Endurance, Flight, Energy Blasts, Energy Manipulation, Shapeshifter, and Mental abilities ranging from Gamma to Omega levels. Data to be gathered to further formulate proper countermeasures.**_

_**Subject Beta: Hex. Llarenes Morath (variant). Alpha Energy Blast/Manipulation, Beta Agility, Beta Martial Arts. Able to manipulate fields of probability: approach with caution.**_

_**Subject Alpha: Wonder Girl. Cassandra Sandsmark. Alpha Strength. Alpha Speed. Alpha Endurance. Flight. Alpha Weaponry.**_

_**Subject Beta: Metatron. Name Unknown. Beta Strength. Beta Speed. Gamma Energy Blasts. Gamma Weapons. Neutralized.**_

**_Subject Beta: Savior. Noel Collins. Alpha Energy Manipulation, Beta Strength, Beta Agility, Alpha Weapons…_**

And the OMAC doing the analysis got an up close look at the Alpha Weapon factor of the Shimmer, as a line lanced out and pieced through the center eye of the robot shell, smaller lines radiating out from the point of impact and tearing through the circuitry in the face and head area, causing the robot to spasm and short out, dropping to the ice as Noel yanked the Shimmer free and leapt to his next target.

And was forced to dodge in mid-air as a beam of deadly red energy nearly cut him in half. While the Viridian OMAC had a large variety of weapons, and all OMAC's had the ability to simulate a wide variety of powers, the favored move seemed to be a variety of deadly blasts from the OMAC's cyclops eye, another of which was waiting Savior as he landed, the teen barely dodging away as he hit the ground and rolled, coming up…face to face with five more OMAC's.

"**_Execute."_** They intoned, and all fired at the same time. Savior furiously threw up a shield, but he could immediately feel the concentrated beams beginning to bore through it, and more were coming up to his side…

"Dad!"

A giant green hand swatted the flanking OMAC's away, and then Myth dropped down as a green plunger appeared before her, Kyra yanking it down, as green power exploded from beneath the firing OMAC's, blowing them into the air. They fell, shattered and disabled, as Savior called the Shimmer back to him, looking at his future daughter.

"Remember what they have trouble with?" Kyra asked.

"Yeah." Savior said, as they slapped their hands into each other. "Together!"

Green power swirled around the two, forming a small platform that fired jet rocket engines as Kyra smashed her construct through another group of OMAC's, Savior throwing out Shimmer lines to tear at heads, chest, and spines, going anywhere he could think of that would have important circuitry as Kyra formed what looked like the ZF-1 from the movie the Fifth Element and opened fire on another group of OMAC's, disabling a few of them before the robots shielded themselves and returned fire. Kyra slapped her father on the shoulder and then flew one way, while he, picking up her cue, leapt the other, bounced/ricocheted back the other way, as Kyra also did her own abrupt 180 degree turnaround and flyback, and he and Kyra swept past each other in a dual swipe of Shimmer lines and green blades. The OMAC's between them collapsed, disabled, as the two stopped and bounded back to each other, Savior swinging a line around to smack a few more OMAC's and keep them off guard.

"Go for it!"

"I'm on fire!" Kyra yelled back, as she reached up and fired a blast of power into the air that exploded into a downward arching rain of fireballs, blasting more OMAC's into submission.

"Hmmm, this combination tactic really is effective. How could Brother Eye have such a hole in his programming?" Noel pondered. Kyra groaned.

"I swear Dad, you wouldn't just look a gift horse in the mouth, you'd recommend dental work." The young woman said. "Who cares? All I know is it's working! So let's keep it up and keep it fresh!"

"Exactly. See you on the other side." Noel called as he leapt away from Kyra, as the two went looking for new partners.

Noel managed to disable, with difficulty but without injury, two more OMAC's before he ran into Donar, whose whirling hammer was trying to fend off several OMAC's that were shooting laser fire and actual burning fire at the godling. Savior provided a distraction, and Donar returned fire with an immense blast of twisting wind, smashing the OMAC's into each other.

"Donar!"

"Mr. Collins!" Donar replied, as Savior leapt away from another blast.

"Noel! Or Savior! Mr. Collins is my blasted father!" Savior retorted.

"Sorry. Force of…!" Donar yelled as an OMAC, a sharp bladed pincer coming from its arm, tried to snap Donar's head off. All it got were a few strands of hair, as Donar whirled away and swung Mjolnir, the mighty weapon forged by the Black Elves, straight into the chest of the OMAC, utterly obliterating most of the shell that covered the human host. That was the advantage of such a high-powered mystical weapon: it could be fine-tuned to pulverize with precision.

"Habit." Donar finished, as Savior tore the circuitry off the head of another OMAC and flipped back to the side of the godling.

"You know the drill?" Savior asked.

"Can you keep up?"

"Count on it!"

Donar loosened the grip on his hammer and began to twirl it above him, calling up a windstorm that eclipsed anything he had done before, a massive tornado that sucked in OMAC's and screwed up their targeting, their laser blasts missing the target as Donar and Savior vanished in the raging wind, even as lines of white power began whipping around inside it.

When the wind faded several seconds later, a few dozen shattered OMAC's came down with it, almost gently, as Donar made sure they weren't hurt.

"Now I know what Helen Hunt felt like." Savior commented, running a hand through his windblown hair.

More OMAC's came to the attack. Donar flew, swinging his hammer in a rotating arc, as Savior leapt above him and lanced forward with deadly spears.

* * *

"Grahhhh! Gug, blaragh! Guraaggghhhagah!" Metatron gasped, vomiting ugly sounds from his mouth even as chunks of dried blood flew from it as well. Ragnarok backed up a bit, looking satisfied: he would have had severe doubts that even he, with the White Catalyst, could fix such a wound, but as Dick had said, he shouldn't underestimate himself. And he hadn't, as he'd managed to pull Metatron back from the brink, fixing his horrifically damaged throat. There wasn't even a scar, though Metatron, through the black chunks he was hacking up, was still feeling the affects. 

"You're all right now. Here." Ragnarok said, picking up a chunk of ice and, with a surge of dark power, turned it into an ice glass filled with clean water. Metatron gulped it down, and then shivered violently: helpful, but cold.

But he was alive. He'd escaped death again.

"…Seriously, can I keep you?" Metatron asked. "Hell, just give me a hair, I'll have you cloned."

And then with a faint cry of 'Ugh!', Hex fell down near where the two were, as she looked up from a battered face, rage blazing in her eyes.

"Oh, are we finally done? Good! Then perhaps YOU COULD HELP!" Hex yelled, as she rolled on her back and fired off a wave of pink energy, the power enveloping an OMAC coming after her to finish the job and causing it to suffer critical system failures: unlike Viridian, these OMAC's didn't have the best shielding or adapting tech for dealing with her. The downside was, like zombies, there were just so damn many of them.

"On it. Where's Davis?"

"He's helping retrieve bodies! Idiot! He shouldn't…!" Hex snapped as she went into a series of backflips to avoid a fired spray of deadly needles, as Hex counter-attacked and cursed as the three OMAC's in the air actually dodged her attack: damn things may not have had the best adapting abilities but that didn't mean they couldn't…

Yin was currently weaving his way through the battle, trying to ignore the chill ice as he hunted for fallen OMAC's that weren't moving: he'd had a bad experience with one who'd stabbed him when he thought he was down for the count, his elastic body barely holding off the blade. He found two more and scooped them up, and began making his way back across the ice…

Where he was greeted by two OMAC's. His eyes widened.

_**"Termina-"**_

A pair of gigantic hands seized the OMAC's, hoisting them up, and for a moment Yin thought Brick Wall was going to crushed the robots in his grip or smash them together. In the end he did neither, instead throwing them away.

"Get…behind me!" Brick ordered: Yin did so as the OMAC's returned with aid, firing their lasers. They struck Brick, but he held his ground, despite his clear pain.

"Can't…do anything! Would hurt people! So Yin…move it!" Brick Wall ordered. Yin did just that, stretching back to the heated rock platform to drop off the bodies.

He found it under siege by OMAC's, barely held off by the three heroes on it. Yin wasn't quite sure what he could do, but he'd think of something, as he dropped the humans off, coiled up his legs, and then sprang into the air.

He seized one OMAC with his hands, wrapped his legs around him in turn, and then let go and stretched as fast as he could in a circle, coiling around several other OMAC's, even as the first one tried to blast him, he had to move fast, as he came back to his original grabbed OMAC and slammed all the OMAC's he had wrapped around together and hoped like hell someone would…

Pink energy washed over him, short-circuiting the robots, and Yin sighed with relief, uncoiling and readjusting his position to catch the people as they fell.

Another OMAC collapsed on the ground, as Metatron continued tearing away at its chest and face with his claws, partially to make sure it was down for good and partially because he was rather angry at the robots.

"Met? It's done. Met. MET!" Ragnarok was yelling. Metatron tore one last chunk off the robot.

"Now it's done." Metatron said, leaping to his feet, and letting a nearby OMAC have it with a modulated heat blast, cooking the circuits in such a way the hard-shell armor took the majority of the attack. "Well done." He added.

"UGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Brick Wall yelled as he crashed down near the rock, his body a mass of burns and scrapes: the OMAC weapons were beginning to wear him down, while he just couldn't do anything in return: if he punched or kicked the robots, he'd harm the people inside. His strength was gigantic, but he didn't have enough fine control to keep them safe…

"Yo Brick, you alright?" Ragnarok asked as he surged over on a plume of rock.

"I have had…better days." Brick replied. "I wish I could do more…but it seems beyond me…"

"How about us?" Ragnarok said, as he raised a hand. "I don't have enough brain power to just snap my fingers and say "You all fall down", but I can certainly use the Dark Catalyst to do a simpler manipulation that should result in better results then what you're getting."

He put his hands on Brick's shoulder.

"I suggest something that would hit multiple targets." Ragnarok said, as a swarm of OMAC's approached.

Brick Wall had just the thing.

The sound of him slamming his hands together nearly deafened the Titans on the rock, but the shockwave of altered sound that emerged from it was worth it, as it left said swarm of approaching OMAC's lying in the dirt (well ice, it was the Arctic, there was no dirt).

"Ow. Nice. A little flat though. Try a B-Minor next time." Ragnarok said, rubbing a finger in one ear. Brick gave him a look, as Yin swept out and retrieved the bodies, Met helping (while complaining that the ice made his feet cold). Hex gave the gathered rescuees another blast of bad luck to make sure any rebuilding programs that might lurk in the OMAC armor that still clung to them stayed where they should: offline.

"I think we're actually making some headway." Ragnarok commented.

And then, right in front of the group, another squad of OMAC's decloaked. At least 500 of them.

"Glomp." Was all Ragnarok could say, as Metatron and Hex opened fire, as Ragnarok frantically tried to think of a defense to keep himself and his team alive as the OMAC's descended, the air filled with the electronic voices, all saying the same thing: **_TERMINATE.

* * *

_**

Being surrounded by OMAC's would have worried a lot of heroes.

This pair wasn't one of them, as they looked around at the masses of blue robots floating around them. And the OMAC's weren't just floating around watching: all of them were blasting and attacking the pair. But nothing got through, twin shielding talents having been brought to the bear to hold off the shots, as Nightmare and Potent stood back to back.

"So…think you can handle all of these?" Mary asked her star-crossed boyfriend. EJ chuckled in a cocky away and held out his hand, as the crystal locked within the area of flesh between his fingers and wrist glowed and then extended outward, forming a thin sword. Fortunately it happened to be nearly indestructible.

"I don't know. I think if one more shows up, that might be too much." EJ replied.

Mary chuckled herself, as shadows surged around her hands. One formed a glaive burned in the image of her father. The other formed multiple lengths of deadly sharp blades, a combination sword/whip, the ends clattering onto the ground.

"I guess I'll have to handle that one then." Mary said.

And then the two suddenly expanded their shield, forcing the OMAC's back, and then it immediately dropped, Potent calling it back around his immediate body and Mary retrieving the dark powers she now commanded as the two leapt forward and ripped into their foes, their savagery only matched by the technique that allowed them to cut down the robots and leave the humans unharmed.

But for every OMAC they bested, four took its place, and even the immense power the two of them wielded seemed that it wouldn't be enough against the legions of metahuman-terminating robots.

* * *

Savior caught his next partner, Scorched Earth, as he was blasted back by several lasers. 

"Watch it!" The white-haired teen warned.

"Cheating bastards!" Scorched Earth growled, as he fired off several Scorch Bolts. The OMAC's dodged and returned with more blasts from their eyes, forcing the two back.

"I'll set them up, you knock them down." Savior said, and then leapt forward.

"What?" Scorched Earth replied, as Savior slammed his hands into the ground.

Shimmer lines erupted out from the distant ground, reaching up and ensnaring the OMAC's that had been tormenting Scorched Earth…and holding them in place.

Much to Noel's relief, Scorched Earth picked it up before the OMAC's could blast several holes in him, as the hybrid teen flew up and, with a yell of effort, cut loose with a wide range Scorch blast/wave that enveloped the OMAC's and left then sparking on the ground.

"Hah! Combo attacks!" Scorched Earth said, while Savior leapt over to the fallen OMAC's to make sure the people were ok: they were, overall. "It's just like _Kingdom Hearts!_…minus absolutely everything else from _Kingdom Hearts_!"

"Keep it up!" Savior tossed back, and leapt high into the air to cross the battlefield, coiling into a tight ball and letting the Shimmer protect him on the way down to make sure if any OMAC's decided to blast him he was guarded. He made it down unmolested, and tackled another OMAC from behind, tearing up their cybernetics in the back and skull area before moving on.

He landed near Nightwing, who had been making his way forward the whole time, aided by Superboy and Wonder Girl, as he threw several Nightarangs at an OMAC and managed to catch one dead center in its eye: the Nightarang then cut loose with a blast of intense electricity and caused the robot to drop where it floated.

"You all right Dick?" Savior asked, as he landed nearby to help Nightwing with his next foes.

"All things considered, yes!"

"So what's the situation?"

"Not difficult enough!" Nightwing retorted, as he blinded a few OMAC's with a flash bomb and let Savior tear them up. Indeed, while the fact that all of the heroes were experienced in fighting OMAC's to some degree, including an amped-up future version, and the fact that the robots couldn't seem to adapt well to combination attacks and were so numerous they had to avoid hitting each other, probably accounted for some of the difficult but easier then expected process, Nightwing couldn't help but feel like the other shoe was just waiting to drop.

"You noticed?" Savior replied, as Superboy smashed an OMAC down near him. Savior finished it off by ripping up the head section.

"Plan hasn't changed. Keep it up! Keep…!"

And then it happened.

* * *

"Alex! The OMAC's aren't working! The heroes are breaking through!" The Psycho-Pirate yelled from where he could see the battle in the distance. He'd thought all the heroes would be dead by now: not only were they not, they seemed to be winning, and if they won, they'd be on the Tower and him in seconds. And Alexander was still up in front of his 'workstation', screwing around with time, space, and reality, hunting for his perfect Earth when he should be noting the problem. "Alex!" 

"Earth-Q…Earth-3181…Earth-25G…no, no, NO." Alex murmured, as he dismissed a few more Earths, even as another one blew up nearby, trying to ignore the Psycho-Pirate and his stupidity.

"ALEX!"

Argh, enough. He couldn't concentrate with this, as he turned away from the rift.

"The group of heroes, they're going to…"

"No, they're not Halston. They are not breaking through. They are simply digging themselves a deeper hole without realizing it. But if you seem to be unable to do anything but question my plan, I'll give you a task. Brother Eye? Full force." Alexander said.

**ACKNOWLEDGED.**

Even as Brother Eye spoke, Alexander Luthor lifted his hands and began to concentrate. In the days of the Crisis of Infinite Earths, he needed his own body to do this, but with the Tower, he could it remotely, as he closed his eyes, letting his vision go beyond him to where he needed to be, locating and focusing.

"Come." He said, as power surged around him.

And began flashing on the battlefield, as his warping effect began, sending groups of the Society out into the field. How nice of then to all gather in one place. And he thought they'd ceased to be important.

"I have greatly reinforced the ranks Halston. Your task is now at hand: make sure they only fight the proper people, not each other. Imbue them with hate, fear, anger, disgust, jealousy, anything, just keep them focused on the so called heroes. Brother Eye, make sure the OMAC's only attack their original targets and none of the new ones."

**ACKNOWLEDGED.**

"Alex, I'm not sure…"

"Yes you can Halston. I have faith in you." Alex Luthor replied, the sarcasm so thick in his voice you could caulk a shower with it. "Now do it, unless you want the heroes to reach here, as you are so afraid they will!"

"…All right." The Psycho-Pirate said, as he turned towards the battlefield. He could do this. He'd once manipulated billions of lives and emotions, he could manipulate several dozen at a distance (right?), as he reached out with his powers, seizing onto minds, pouring his influence into them, searing their hearts and souls with negative feelings, all of which revolved around one simple edict: MAKE THE HEROES SUFFER.

Alexander turned back to his rift, losing himself in the task once more. He hoped that would be the last interruption.

* * *

Nightwing saw the wing uncloak in front of the rear guard a second after they did. He didn't get a chance to call attention to it though, as it was just the first. 

As more OMAC's suddenly came from nowhere, having been held back until now, more and more appearing, the sky filling with them, as their number doubled, tripled, quadrupled, and so on.

Nightwing thought things couldn't get any worse.

He was, as usual, dead wrong.

The flashes of light were different, nothing like the effect of the uncloaking OMAC's, a rapid series of them, all around the fields of ice. And when they faded, beings remained.

Savior's head jerked around, his pupils dilating. He didn't recognize all of them, but he recognized enough.

The Society. Villains one and all. He'd almost forgotten his erstwhile prediction, back before Kyra and Co had showed up.

And once again, he was reminded that he hated being right.

The only break the heroes had was that the OMAC's paused in their attack, to analyze all the new arrivals to differentiate them from their original targets, so that they wouldn't attack them per Brother Eye's orders.

That didn't stop the villains, as Psycho-Pirate's powers flooded into them, filling most with intense wrath. True, some weren't affected, or only minimally affected, for a variety of reasons…but the group as a whole was affected enough.

Yin had been out retrieving innocents again when it had happened, and he had no sooner seen the new faces when two attacked him, twin villains called Hammer and Sickle who tried to crush and gut the adult with their respective namesake weapons. Some distance away, Scorched Earth found himself being swarmed by the insane replicating clones known as the Madmen, while Wonder Girl suddenly found herself being introduced to the cannon arm of the cyborg Nazi villain called the Red Panzer.

And they were just a couple. And not all of them were third-stringers.

Nightwing knew that.

He could see Bizzaro off in the distance. Bizzaro, whose powers had been said by some to be even greater then Superman's.

And then, just to totally and utterly complete the 'Screw You', the OMAC's came back on line.

**_"EXECUTE."_**

Nightwing leapt away from the attacks as utter chaos erupted on the battlefield once more, twice as much as there had already been. Nightwing could barely hear himself think, but he screamed orders anyway.

"THE TOWER!" He yelled. "GET TO THE TOWER! Punch through! MOVE! WE'RE NOT GOING TO LAST LONG OUT HERE!"

And then he was overwhelmed.

_To Be Continued._


	7. War: A Wicked Inclination

War, Part 2: A Wicked Inclination

Writer's Note: If you're wondering who most of these villains are, go to Wikipedia Dot Org and type in "The Society": most (though not all) have an entry there. Just in case you'd like some clarification.

* * *

Space. 

Into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell.

"Buckle up boys." Hal Jordan yelled. " You're going for one helluva ride!"

And the Beetle ship charged, Hal Jordan forming a shield on the front to ward off attacks while John Stewart created additional rocket engines to speed the spaceship up even more, ramming it through the OMAC's before they could fully convene on the ship and its Green Lantern defenders, and then smashing through Brother Eye's second guard of miniature satellite probes, all made in their maker's image, even in the face of the concentrated horrendous amounts of firepower the defenses poured on the ship, Hal somehow holding it together.

And yet Batman remained as cool as a cucumber, piloting the ship through the inferno like it was a casual Sunday drive. Had Savior been there, he would have added it to the 12000th page of his 'Batman is awesome' book.

Jamie Reyes had quite another idea.

"That guy's insane!" He half-yelled.

"You don't know the half of it kid." Rex Mason, aka the element shifting Metamorpho replied: he'd been around a fair amount of time and knew what he was talking about.

Jamie would have added to his opinion, except Brother Eye's massive red namesake was looming in his vision, moments before impact, as a metallic shield retracted around it, trying to cut off the access route as well as play the windshield to the bug aspects of the ship…

"Everyone hang on." Batman said.

**_BOOOOMM!_** The ship punched through the eye roughly ¼ of a second before the shield fully closed, as Hal and John broke off, turning their attentions to the massive amount of OMAC's swarming at their rears.

It wasn't the first time they'd fought armies single-handedly, but it might prove to be the last, as the two nodded and went to work, firing intense green blasts of power as the OMAC's returned fired, a hundred beams to their two.

The group on the ship had their own problems. One, they were crashing. Two, the yellow bug eye windows of the front were just about to shatter from the impact they had suffered. Three, those windows shattering meant there was nothing between the group and the vacuum of space.

Which Jamie only realized when the windows blew and the air began to be sucked out, and he knee-jerk panicked, trying to unclose his throat to scream…

"Rex." Batman said.

"Already on it Bats. Breathable air coming right up." Metamorpho said, as he called upon his shapeshifting abilities and transformed into the mix of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases that humans needed to live, filling the ship and the area beyond.

Which let Jamie hyperventilate: it was just too much…

But his main part was played, as Batman got up and walked past him.

He spared him a brief glance, and though Jamie couldn't really tell with the way the mask blanked his face, he thought he saw a note of approval. An unspoken word of thanks.

"Booster. Jamie. Stay with the ship. Protect it." Batman said as he walked on, a general striding onto the field. "We're going to need a ride back."

"On it Bats." Booster said, as Jamie watched Batman step from the shattered windows and onto the body of Brother Eye, his handpicked team on his heels.

"Sasha, link up to Oracle. Download every single computer virus on Earth into Brother Eye's system. Try to keep him from shutting the artificial gravity down. Black Lightning, Mr. Terrific, head to the memory banks. Fry whatever circuits you can. Black Canary, get to the surveillance rooms. Use that sonic scream to blind Brother Eye."

And then silence.

"Hey Dark Knight, what about me?" Green Arrow asked. "Why'd the hell you call a guy who shoots trick arrows?"

"Just to see if you'd show." Batman replied.

For a moment, Green Arrow had no idea if Batman was serious or joking.

Then he realized it.

"Brave and the bold, huh?" Green Arrow commented. "Heh. You got me all misty."

* * *

Nightwing, at a Beta level, was ranked immensely high for a normal human. But for all his training, his abilities, his skills, and his legacy, he was just a man. He didn't have hardlight shields, dark powers, alien warrior society crystals, or genetic mutations to protect him from injury and death. All he had was top-line body armor, easily negated…and a pliable layer about 1/8 of an inch thick that we called skin shielding his organs and bones from injury. 

Swarmed by OMAC's, he should have been dead in four seconds, at most.

But Nightwing faced his supposed fate without fear. And not just because that was the way Dick Grayson the man was. It was also because of what Nightwing the hero knew. Knew when he formed the first Titans, knew when he'd adventured with their successors and offshoots, knew in his bones: a team is greater then the sum of its parts. Where one may falter, another will stand.

And that came true, as a massive series of giant flying green piranhas suddenly swarmed over his foes, and with three seconds he was free, surrounded by fallen humans in half-destroyed body armor.

"You all right Dick?" Kyra asked.

"Yeah. Thanks." Nightwing replied.

"Lead the way."

"I'd like to but…damn." Nightwing said, as he leapt away from another slashing OMAC. Masses of the cyborgs, AND villains. This was not good. He'd yelled to go to the tower, should he still try that and risk everyone being cut down from the rear? Was that even possible?

And then, he saw Superboy swoop down and smash Red Panzer in one punch, sending the cyborg villain tumbling away even as he fried an OMAC's outer head with heat vision, and he knew.

"TITANS! TO THE TOWER!"

"Sure thing Dick, why don't we make it a sack race while we're at it?" Savior cursed to himself, as he backflipped away from several OMAC's…and found himself face to face with a green suited villain that he didn't recognize.

It didn't matter that Skorpio, aka Dennis Samuel Ellis, a C-lister who had called Steel his main foe once, had no idea who Noel was either. His head was roaring with fury, a rage that demanded it be taken out on the heroes, and Skorpio was going to do just that, as he swiped a clawed hand tipped with fatal toxins at the teen.

"DIE!" He snarled, as he slashed again, and again, Savior flailing backwards, trying to look in four directions at once: at Skorpio and the surrounding OMAC's.

Which forced him to sacrifice, as to dodge an OMAC shot he had to form a Shimmer shield to keep from having his chest injected with fatal poison, as Skorpio's claws slammed down on it, piercing into the shield and drawing a snarling cry of pain from Savior.

Who decided he'd had enough right there and shifted to the side, as he curled back his leg and thrust it into the side of Skorpio's knee with a sickening crunch. The villain screamed in turn, which didn't last long as Savior leapt and slammed his knee into his skull (reinforcing it with the Shimmer, skull bones were stronger then knee ones). The villain collapsed, even as Savior was forced to dodge in mid-air three more OMAC's blasting at him. Savior hit the ground and rose to counterattack…

And then several razor-sharp playing cards slashed across his form, the body armor he had only providing some protection as he snarled again, turning towards his attacker.

"Oh so sorry. I was expected you TO DIE!" Double Down, a lesser Flash villain whose power was a cursed pack of playing cards that had bonded to his skin (yeah, I know), the magical weapon literally peeling off the villain to attack. Which he did, hurling another barrage of deadly daggers at the teen.

* * *

Yin completed his final twist and tensed his body, slamming Hammer and Sickle's heads together with a loud cracking noise. Yin unwrapped his form from the two villains and snatched up the innocents he had come to rescue, getting out of the area where he was so exposed. 

The rock platform offered no sanctuary though. It was still being besieged by OMAC's, Hex being the sole one left in trying to hold them off because several villains had gravitated to it like a magnet. A giant bald man (Ibac, a Captain Marvel villain), had pounced on Metatron, trying to hammer the demon's head into the rock, while Ragnarok found himself besieged by both Murmur, a psychotic knife-wielding serial killer, and Girder, a living pile of scrap metal with an ego (both Flash villains). While pelting Murmur with rocks seemed to be keeping him back, Girder was just shrugging it off. Yin moved to help.

And then a yo-yo slammed down half a foot from Yin's body. A yo-yo that went right through the dense rock like it was made of toilet paper.

"Oopsie! My bad!" Came a rather silly-sounding voice. "I'll share properly now!"

Yin turned to see the Toyman introducing his yo-yo to Yin's face.

* * *

"EYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Scorched Earth bellowed as he blew the snickering, laughing mob of lunatics known as the Madmen off him. Several hadn't gotten the message: he gave it to them with his fists (he couldn't hit as hard as Mom, but he could still hit damn hard). 

And he wasn't used to watching his back, as several laser blasts slammed into him and threw him to the ground with a scream, as more OMAC's came to add to the power and finish him off.

Scorched Earth didn't let them, seizing the ground and projecting intense heat into it, melting down through the ice before the OMAC's could react.

By the time they'd begun a ground scan, Scorched Earth was already popping up behind him. He introduced them to a few of his close friends: the Scorch Bolts he fired.

But more came to replace them, but that only made Scorched Earth grin crazily: his Tamaranian blood was all fired up now and it wanted to wreck some havoc. And even on the side of the angels, Scorched Earth knew how to raise hell, as he clenched his fist and balls of violet-red energy exploded into being around it.

"Say hello, TO MY LEETLE FRIEND!" He snapped, and thrust out his fist, firing a wide spray.

* * *

"Hey lover, notice something?" Mary asked, as she slashed through four more OMAC's, sending them collapsing at her feet (man, despite all the warnings she'd been given, she didn't see the gigantic threat these things were being promoted as. Maybe she was spoiled after that twisted Viridian alteration…or maybe she was just that damn good). 

"Yes. I am bored." Potent replied. He said that a lot in his life. Why wouldn't he? He'd been born with a direct line to the Speed Force, a great gift in and of itself, and when his mother had given him the Somethingorother Gem (it's real name had about nine syllables EJ never bothered to remember) at age 17 because it had been wearing her body out and she didn't want to die at age 42 he'd gotten immense strength and invulnerability on top of that. After that, nothing ceased to engage him any more: it was far too easy. He could cross the world in an eyeblink, toss a bus across a whole city without much effort, and have an ocean liner dropped on him and yawn. He didn't see how Superman kept from going out his mind with boredom: nothing EJ did from that day ever challenged him. Hell, some rookie superhero team boasting eight members had tracked him down to try and get revenge for something his dad had did (he always felt his old man, as cold as he could be at times, got a bum rap: he'd never seen his Dad do anything that didn't need to be done, one way or another, and hell when he'd finished he'd just asked to be left alone on his island, but could people do that noooooo…so he didn't really agree with other's opinions that he was a monster) one day: he'd beaten them all in less then two minutes…using only one arm. Life had become boring.

Then he'd met Mary, newly empowered with her Lord abilities.

She'd made life fun again. She didn't crumple after a punch, she didn't have three moves she used over and over again, she didn't become easier as he ramped up his speed: she just pulled out new and nastier tricks. Their brawls became his only reason for going on. Big surprise they'd ended up in bed together, and beyond. As utterly insane as it drove her father, and his wasn't exactly leaping for joy either. But he was Omnipotent (well Potent now, would the Speed Force ever return?), what were they going to do?

Well for one thing he kind of wished these OMAC's would do something other then blast and slash him: he felt the blows, but they were ignorable, while a slash or two with his gemsword (a trick he'd invented himself, his mom never really explored just what the gem could do) disabled them well enough to put them down for the count.

Hadn't some villains just shown up? Could he switch partners?

A blast of dark power from Mary's hand destroyed his last four opponents. He gave her a dirty look, and she grinned wickedly.

"You snooze, you lose."

And then the grenade flew at her.

Mary caught it.

Her hand exploded, her upper arm blown to bits from the force of the blast. She stared, incredulously, at the stump that had once been a hand.

"A farewell to arms." Intoned a mechanical voice, and the two turned to look at the thrower: a robot, dark gray in color, and one that had apparently seen some better days. Part of his covering and armor were removed, revealing inner workings, including tubes running from his shoulders from his arms, the hands housed in thick gloves. The robot had thin, almost fragile looking legs, and wore a helmet over his face with three lenses in an off-tilted triangle, two small and one big. The whole construct was covered in rust in more areas then not, almost obscuring the number printed on his segmented chest: H-041, with an E scrawled on at the end.

The two had no idea who this H-041-E was, but he was aiming a high power machine gun at them.

And…finding it wasn't working as well as it was supposed to.

"Argh! Lousy German knockoff junk!" H-041-E cursed, as he fiddled with the machine gun.

"Huh." Mary said, as dark power began to rise up from her stump, and within seconds her arm was back, good as new. She'd converted it into shadow power an instant before the grenade had blown: then she'd just called it back, reassembled it, and switched back to flesh once more.

Of course, she had new problems, as H-041-E finally got his gun working and opened fire, blazing a deadly line of hollowpoint bullets.

Problems only in the sense that if they hit her they'd hurt. That really wasn't an issue.

Potent blinked as they exploded on him, and then sighed, utterly unfazed by the shots as he looked over at where Mary was just glaring at the bullets, the shots stopping in mid air, freezing and falling before her, seized by dark power and stopped, her version of Neo's trick.

"Go ahead." She said. Potent snorted and started walking towards H-041-E, acting the bullets were a light summer breeze.

"Oh confound…!" H-041-E, as his gun jammed again: he threw another grenade, but Potent just knocked it aside, the blast and the shrapnel not phasing him at all, as H-041-E got his gun up and sprayed one last burst into Potent at close range.

The bullets broke. Potent didn't.

"OH FOXTROT UNICORN CHARLI-!"

Potent's punch smashed the robot into the proverbial thousand pieces. He sighed as he lowered his fist. Apparently the fact he didn't know what that robot had been was well deserved.

"Is there ANYONE here who won't go down after one punch?" He yelled, throwing up his arms as he twirled around, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around him (EJ was far more used to thinking selfishly then not, and most of his non-selfish thoughts revolved around Mary, so the obvious: go use his great power to help someone else didn't come quickly to him, if at all). "Anyone? Anyone at all?"

The answer probably wasn't what he expected.

"Solomon Grundy born on a Monday."

Potent turned into the grayish-white fist filling his vision, as the undead powerhouse smashed Potent off his feet and across the ice (Grundy? Wasn't he dead? Permanent dead? Smashed to bits on top of that? Had he been chaos-magicked back into this semblance of existence again? Had his never-dying nature just stalled for a bit and then kicked back into gear? Had Superboy-Prime magic crystal wall punched him back into the land of the not-quite-living? Who knew, he was back, in some form).

Mary couldn't help but laugh, as with another comment of "Solomon Grundy born on a Monday", the zombie giant leapt after Potent.

Mary wasn't worried. EJ could take care of himself.

"Be careful what you wish for…" Mary taunted, waving a finger. "You just might…"

And then her nostrils filled with a scent, one even she knew, and the hairs on the back of her neck rose up as she herself whirled…

It came down on her, all snarling rage and swinging blades, Mary feeling a wound open up on her face even as another blade bit into her side, as she tumbled across the ground in a mad tangle, her foe trying her best to rip her to shreds.

Not today, as Mary bellowed and blew her attacker right off her with an explosive eruption of dark energy, as she sank into the shadows, reforming and remerging as her enemy landed on her feet. The furious look in her eyes was only matched by the one in Nightmare's.

"Rebecalnatrac." She growled: the White Hole grinned madly. Mary was only a tad surprised to find the worst nightmare of her dad here, alive and well: what with her cloning and her failsafes, death could only be an inconvenience to her.

Not to mention she was one of the deadliest threats in the universe.

But so was Mary Hastings. What she'd seen in the future indicated a new path would be followed soon for the White Hole: Mary would give her a gigantic kick in the ass towards it, as she snarled and formed her shadow glaive and daggertails.

"You will find you cannot walk all over me, you _czuatgou wlonguoy._" Mary hissed in a VERY nasty insult, in Blacktrinian, to a female of the same.

"I think that very much. Your blood stinks of weaknesses, just like his." The White Hole said: she seemed unperturbed at the thought of encountering a grown child of the Hastionfarlock bastard considering he hadn't lain with anyone but that disgusting human cow and this didn't seem to be a mutt mixture, strange…but with the voice in her head, her old ways had snap-reasserted themselves and she'd gone right back into her old viewpoints: kill now, ask questions never.

"You'll know how well your nose served you when it's sticking out the BACK OF YOUR HEAD!" Mary snarled, and leapt, the White Hole meeting her in mid-blade swing.

* * *

Donar's fists were almost as devastating as his hammer, as he smashed another OMAC down. He gathered up the humans and quickly flew to the heated rock safety platform, goggling at the way it was under attack. Well, he'd do something about that. 

Hex was trying to get some air into her burning lungs and clear the blurriness in her eyes when Donar dropped down near her.

"Allow me m'lady." Donar said, as he began whirling his hammer: intense wind immediately seized up and blasted through the OMAC's, hammering them like a thousand fists. Donar did that for a bit, as Hex just stared in astonishment. She wasn't used to seeing such great power used for her benefit.

"Are you ok? Do you require rest?" Donar asked as he turned to her.

Hex formed her fingers into a gun and blasted a pink beam over Donar's shoulder, 'bad-lucking' another OMAC behind Donar with a blade arm into short-circuiting.

"Don't worry about me." She said.

"I see. All the same, I shall gladly lend you my hammer some more!" Donar said, as he launched into the air, meeting the first OMAC he met with Mjolnir. The next one also got a meeting, as Hex went back to work, thinking that this was lucky…she was never lucky…

Self-fulfilling prophecy.

"GOODBYE!" Came an odd voice in a cheerful tone, and then Donar was gone as a white and purple blur slammed into him, knocking him away, and even as he looked up Bizzaro laughed and punched him, sending stars exploding through the teen god's vision as he crashed down to Earth.

Bizzaro followed him.

Feet first.

Hex was left to face the legions alone, once more.

Well, she'd always said you couldn't wield bad luck and be anyway immune to it, as her hands glowed and she fired off another blast, trying to take down her opponents before she collapsed.

She had a feeling the latter would be coming a lot quicker then the former.

* * *

Brick Wall had seen a couple of odd opponents in his time. This was a new winner. 

"DIE YOU GIG GASTARD!" A wooden ventriloquist's dummy, dressed up like a Prohibition gangster and complete with a scar on its face (it was a pretty malevolent looking dummy, Brick would give it that), yelled, as it fired a mini machine gun. Brick could only stare at the sight, as the dummy continued to fire, held by a short, squat white haired man who seemed rather nervous about the whole thing. It was very strange, if no less deadly: had Brick been human, those miniature bullets would have gone through him as easy as normal ones.

But he wasn't, as he slowly approached, the bullets registering as mosquito bites, if that. He thought he had an idea of who this was, some Batman villain, split personality, evil side manifested in his ventriloquist dummy, Albert something or other…whoever he was, he had a feeling if the man went down, so would his projection.

He also wondered why the dummy replaced every B in the words he spoke with a G. Maybe that was a sign of subpar voice-throwing technique. Brick didn't really know the measuring stick for such a thing though, as he walked up, the bullets bouncing and flattening off him.

Scarface, the dummy, the evil side of Albert Wesker's split personality, cursed as his gun ran dry, as Brick Wall stepped up and loomed over the short lunatic, who probably wished he was back in Gotham. He whimpered.

"DO SOMETHING YOU GODDAMN GUTTERGALL…!" Scarface yelled.

Brick lightly tapped the Ventriloquist on the head. As he expected, that was all he needed.

"Strange…days." Brick said, looking at the fallen lunatic. Maybe he should stick with the OMAC's, go back to…

"Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" A gruff voice said.

The General, once Wade Eiling, punched Brick Wall so hard it sounded like a bomb.

* * *

Kyra wished that she had more backup, but Superboy and Wonder Girl had gotten tied up with one of Superboy's old enemies, King Shark, and Myth had listened to orders to press on, even as Wonder Girl tried to drag back the maniacal creature that was trying to eat her boyfriend's head (Kyra wouldn't have worried if she hadn't know that King Shark, the child of a 'shark god' and hence divinely empowered, actually had teeth so sharp they could punch through Superboy's skin). But Superboy could handle himself: when Kyra had been turning away he'd hammered King Shark with a mammoth punch, and then she'd gone back to Nightwing's side, as he tried to push his way through the OMAC's. Forming a squadron of TIE Fighters with her ring, Kyra gave him covering fire, picking away at the legions. 

It was like picking sand out of a dish one grain at a time: progress could said to be being made, but how could you really tell?

Kyra didn't falter though, because Nightwing wasn't, as he leapt away from an OMAC blast and then found a green shield forming in front of him as several bombs exploded against it. Kyra turned the shield into an armored bulldozer and rammed the OMAC's backwards.

"Push on, brave volunteers." Nightwing found himself saying.

"General Isaac Brock, British Major-General during the war of 1812, moments before he was killed by American sharpshooters. If some accounts are to be believed." Kyra found herself replying. Nightwing looked surprised.

"You KNOW that quote?"

"Do you have ANY idea how much military garbage my dad force-fed me on…" Was all Kyra got out.

The shaft impaled itself in her leg, and even as the pain hit her, another shaft struck her in the upper chest, this one exploding and sending her backwards with a scream.

"Kyra!" Nightwing called, but she was already lost among the crowds.

Kyra hit the ground, groaning in pain as she tried to focus.

"**_Execute."_** An OMAC said, as it approached with intent to blow Kyra's head off.

A green shark surged up from beneath it and seized it in its teeth, slamming the cyborg into the ground as Kyra pulled herself up, hissing and looking at the length of metal buried in her leg. Damn it, it was barbed too. Her ring would help a bit, but still…

Kyra yanked it out anyway, screaming as she did so, and even as she tried to use her ring to patch the wound she heard her.

"Why do you reek like Stewart?" The alien said. She looked a fair bit like a Tamaranian: orange skin (though hers had more brown in it) and long bushy brown hair. Her outfit was green and black, a lot like Kyra's modified uniform…except hers didn't have a green ring on the chest. It had a split green ring, like it had been cleaved through. Her alien crossbow hung at her side, as her hands gripped a deadly energy staff, the end arranged as a club to make the weapon a bludgeon as well.

Kyra knew who this was. She'd haunted Stewart and a horrendous mistake he had made to her ringgiver's dying day.

"Yrra Cynril." Kyra hissed.

"FATALITY!" The alien warrior known as Fatality shrieked, as she tried to cave Kyra's head in. Kyra dodged, but the alien was so quick, immediately shooting after her, shattering Kyra's formed shield with her staff, the weapon crackling with a strange power that negated Kyra's constructs, as a knife appeared in her hand from nowhere as she tried to cut Kyra's throat. Kyra only avoided it by forming a green superball between the knife and her throat, the blade barely deflected enough as Kyra kicked her away with her good leg, trying to regroup.

"On second thought, I don't care why you bear the stench of that bastard. DIE GREEN LANTERN!" Fatality yelled, as she furiously attacked Kyra again.

Nightwing didn't see any of this: he had his own problems.

It was ironic that he'd quoted Gen. Brock. The man had a personal philosophy of not ordering men where he would not lead them, and hence he had personally lead charges, putting himself right out in the front. It had caused his death, but it was also a sign of character, one he shared with Nightwing.

And Nightwing knew that his own army would follow him if they could. They couldn't: the tide had overwhelmed them, and now it sought to do likewise to him.

He didn't have a choice, as he retreated backwards, just staying half a step away from the deadly weapons of the OMAC. His troops, as they were, were doing the best they could, but unless there was a turnaround, or others finally arrived in the answering of his distress signal, or they could reach the Golden Tower and free the heroes trapped on it, it seemed like they would simply be rolled over eventually.

Well, he'd go down fighting.

Which reminded him: he was starting to run out of utility belt weapons.

When it rained, it poured.

* * *

Detroit. 

There was no rain falling, and that bothered Beast Boy more then anything, as he looked up at the angry sky, covered with flashing clouds as lightning streaked between them.

He then became aware of a movement, as he looked back to his team to see Nigel collapsing. The fact that Nigel hadn't been there three seconds ago made the fact that he was collapsing into Gauntlet's arms even more disturbing.

"Nigel! Are you all right?" Robin asked: the Titans had been moving in a checkerboard pattern across the states the past several hours, trying to deal with problems as they came across them. They'd eventually ended up in Michigan, and its main city, which was having plenty of trouble of the human variety.

"Riot quelled…let me go…I just need to…catch my breath…" Scalpel gasped.

"Catch your breath my butt. You're half-dead Nigel, and quite eagerly headed down the path to full-dead. Stand down: you won't do anything in this state."

"Such an order is irrelevant to him." Viridian, this time's Viridian, not corrupted into an OMAC, said as she stood nearby, eternally looking cool. "Nigel Hastings' natural urge for self-flagellation for feelings of betrayal and failure towards his species has only been aggrandized by the disappearance of Miss Sophie Mathews. You are attempting to soothe a deep needed for self-destruction with words Timothy Drake. I suggest you focus your energies…"

"BLISS!" Robin snapped. "Just stop talking!"

"Why? I am merely stating the tr…"

"I DON'T CARE!" Robin yelled. "Scalpel, rest. We'll find Sophie. She's a lot tougher then some would believe. But we won't do anyone any good if you die beforehand."

"Unlikely. Odds of total destruction of this planetary body have reached 53.98 percent." Viridian said.

"BLISS! MOUTH! SHUT!" Robin snapped again. "I don't care if you're using pure logic, it's quite possible to have the surest step and still be walking the wrong path."

"I hate to interrupt this little love in, but can I ask a question?" Terra said, and pointed to the sky. "At first I heard lots of thunder to go with that lightning…the thunder's stopped. And there's no rain. But there's still all that lightning. What's going on?"

"It is not a simple thunderstorm. It is a manifestation of the damage done to this planet. The electromagnetic field has been disrupted by the high-class reality alterations inflicted over the past several days, and this disturbance is beginning to materialize here: static discharge is building in the atmosphere to…"

"Wait wait wait wait wait…static discharge? Electromagnetic fields disruption? Didn't I see this in that movie _The Core?_" Gauntlet asked.

"Yes."

"Wasn't most of that film based on junk science?"

"Indeed, but with the constant assaults on the fabric of reality, this junk science is becoming the new science. From the levels of energy I am monitoring, this static discharge will erupt in a very similar way as portrayed in that piece of fiction, except I estimate it will be roughly four times larger. With the amount of metal in this city, it will serve as an excellent conductor, with an energy output that will produce enough heat from all the striking and conducted lightning strikes to transform most if not all of the water in an organic body into something resembling the mist emerging from a teapot. In other words…"

"Hold it! STOP!" Robin yelled. "Cut what will it do! How do we STOP it?"

"We cannot." Viridian replied. "It is not something that can be bludgeoned or blasted into submission. It does not have organs to target or a sentience to appeal to. It simply is, and while it is possible for us to flee, there is nothing WE can do, Robin." Viridian said.

"THERE MUST BE SOMETHING!"

"There is only one thing we can do, Robin." Viridian said. "We die."

* * *

The Matrix backwards dodge is not a recommended combat technique: it is far more flash then substance. 

Usually.

Savior threw his body backwards, seeing the deadly cards fly over his head, even as his arms touched the ground and Noel used them and Shimmer strands to push backwards and up, throwing his legs up as he tried to avoid having them come into contact with the deadly cards, as he flipped over, landing on his feet again. He'd done it, he'd dodged the cards'…

First barrage.

The second came at him a second after the first. Double Down had been bluffing, so to speak, when he'd seemingly ended his attack.

The only blessing Noel had was that this time the cards came at him flat-first instead of edge-first.

What that meant was instead of ripping him to shreds, they wound him up like a mummy.

Savior collapsed, arms tight at his sides, legs clamped together, half his face covered, as his uncovered eye darted around in furious fear: OMAC's, he was exposed, he had to escape…

A shadow fell over him, as Savior turned his eye to look back up at the freakish Double Down, who looked furiously pleased, as several more cards peeled off his body and came to his hand, their edges shining.

"Last call." Double Down said, as the OMAC's closed in.

A Shimmer strand shot from Savior's eye, the end forming into a fist and slamming into Double Down's face, and even as he went down the strand grabbed his body as Savior put the unconscious form of the Flash Rogue between him and the OMAC's. It was pure selfish survival, but Noel would deal with that later: he had to escape, and he'd only do that if he had a shield, and if this bastard had to be filled with holes in his stead…

…He'd have to wait. It wasn't happening.

Savior blinked (well it looked like he winked) as he shifted and finally got the proper leverage to rip himself free from the cursed playing card bondage, as he reached up and grabbed Double Down, shifting his position to keep the villain in front of him as he got up.

The OMAC's were there, at least fifteen: they could have easily blasted them both. But instead, they tried to move around Savior's guard.

And it came to Noel. Of course. OMAC's hunted metahumans, and they didn't care about morality. But Alexander Luthor did: there was no point calling villains for added defense if his OMAC's also went after them.

Which meant Noel had a loophole.

And like a good tactician, he exploited the hell out of it, as he hurled the body of Double Down at the OMAC's. He would have collapsed laughing if they'd tried to catch him, but they didn't: they just moved out of the way…long enough for Noel to fly into the fray and start tearing them to pieces, dancing around them so they kept trying to target him without hitting a fellow, which proved their undoing.

Nearly a month ago, this same number of OMAC's had nearly killed him and his whole team. Either he was getting better, or they were getting worse. Neither made much sense, unless Brother Eye was…

Distracted.

By Batman.

Yeah, that hypothesis definitely made sense.

Time to spread the word.

* * *

Their weapons slammed together as Nightmare and the White Hole met in the air, the two furiously clashing together for the brief seconds before gravity reminded them they couldn't naturally fly. They didn't let gravity slow them down, as the White Hole fell and Mary zapped to the side, landing some distance away…as the White Hole leapt and brought her spiked mace down on Mary's interlocked weapons. 

It nearly drove Mary to her knees, as she struggled furiously. She couldn't underestimate Rebecca Styles (the White Hole's English approximation of a name), even empowered by the Lord's demi-god abilities: the White Holes hadn't been feared across the galaxy because Blacktrinian propaganda was good at spreading a reputation. They were feared the old-fashioned way.

Mary broke the clash and leapt backwards, thrusting out her daggertails as they lanced together, piercing the air where the White Hole had been as she flipped to the side and charged, and before Mary could block the White Hole swung her mace into her side, a loud cracking noise shaking the air around them as Mary flew, out of control, finally crashing into a wall of ice that was provided by another plateau like the one the Titans had been standing on when this had begun. She growled as her eyes glowed black, and as the White Hole charged in she let loose with a piecing blast of dark power. The White Hole leapt over it…and into the series of blasts that flew out of Mary's spinning glaive, knocking her down. Mary leapt herself, slashing out her glaive again and sending a dark wave of power tearing through the ice…but she missed the White Hole again, as she was on her feet and in the air a second before the blast detonated, meeting Mary weapon to weapon.

There was a touch of smugness in her face, and that made Mary even angrier, as the glaive and mace slammed together again and again, almost too quick for the human eye to see.

The White Hole kicked Mary in the gut, and she flew backwards, flipping over and impacting against the ice wall of the plateau again, feet first this time, as she ran along the wall for a few seconds and leapt off again, streaking towards Styles. The White Hole laughed and raised her weapon…

And then Mary vanished in darkness. The White Hole, still floating in mid air from her upward jump, blinked…

Movement to the side. The White Hole swung, and tore through a disappearing mass of shadows…as another appeared above her, and to her left again, and…

Mary emerged from a portal behind the alien and introduced Rebecca to her own fist, sending the alien crashing violently into the ice. Mary landed on the ground and charged, swinging her glaive overhead in a rapid spin and slashing it down.

The White Hole caught it.

"Disappointing." She snarled, and yanked, pulling Mary into a devastating mace roundhouse that sent her flying across the ice again.

"UGH!" Brick Wall grunted as he hit the ground, shaking his head. He was seeing stars. That didn't happen to him often.

"Come on kid. Shouldn't I be having trouble keeping up with you?"

The General's fist slammed into the back of Brick's head, smashing his face into the ice, as the massive hand then seized him by the head, lifting up the gigantic teen as he prepared to slam him into the ground again.

Brick elbowed the General in the side of the head, and then whirled and smashed his massive fist across the General's face. His blow would have sent a tank flipping across the ground like it was a blown leaf.

The General no-sold it.

"You kids, too much reputation these days."

The General's twin-fisted uppercut sent Brick flying backwards again: Brick would have dodged it if he could, but he had never been quick on his feet, while the General was, animal quick, sometimes even running on all fours after Brick, as he hit the ground, trying to recover, only to find the General's fist slamming into his face once more.

Potent was no longer bored, though he wished he was: Solomon Grundy hadn't found him after his tossaway punch. The bad news was, two others had: Mister Atom, a nuclear powered robot who served as a foe for the Marvels (Captain, Mary, and Junior), and Ubermensch, a recently appeared villain who had been part of a team of 'American supremacists' (re: Nazis). While the teaming of a bullet-headed robot (and why he was helping in the attack when he should have been immune to Psycho-Pirate's mind influences was puzzling, or maybe he was getting instructions from the OMAC's, or maybe he was just programmed to recognize and attack heroes), and a skinhead juggernaut with a red cross scar across his face was quite odd, they didn't seem to have any problems with it nor with what they were doing: raining down blows on a fallen Potent, who was trying to get back up and not having much luck with the slippery ice and snow and the constant assault.

At least until Mister Atom smashed a punch into his nose…and produced a trickle of blood.

Blood?

He was BLEEDING?

He NEVER bled. Even…

"ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Potent screamed, as his personal force field renewed and expanded itself, pushing his two opponents away as Potent got to his feet, ignoring his fallen gem sword as he tackled Mister Atom, knocking him to the ground as he tore into the robot's chest. Massive radiation poured out, but Potent ignored it, as he continued ripping out parts and wires, smashing in Mister Atom's face when he tried to stop him.

And then a punch knocked him off the robot. Potent rolled to his feet as Ubermensch charged in.

Potent held out his hand, and his lost gem blade flew into it. He introduced the point, and what lay beyond it, to Ubermensch's thigh.

The giant man roared, which gave Potent a perfect place to introduce his fist, slamming it against the skinhead's jaw, even as he yanked the sword free. Ubermensch stumbled, and Potent buried his fist into his gut, and as he doubled over Potent grabbed his head with both hands, yanked the Nazi back up, and slammed his forehead down on Potent's knee. As the giant went limp, Potent grabbed him and hurled him off into the distance.

"WHO ELSE WANTS SOME!" The furious teen declared.

"Solomon Grundy born on a Monday."

The punch somehow took Potent by surprise, AGAIN, but this time he didn't fly: he slid, going backwards a dozen feet before he stopped, his eyes flashing with rage as he raised his sword, yelling in fury again as he charged towards the undead behemoth that was causing him so much trouble.

Scorched Earth slammed two OMAC's heads together, added a blast of power in the process to fully disable them, and then turned as he fired a piercing ray from his hand, catching another OMAC's eye beam and driving it back, all the way to the source, the faceplate frying as Scorched Earth cut off his attack.

"Yeah!" He said, thoroughly enjoying himself despite the situation.

The orb hitting him, as it shattered and incased his whole form in ice, probably put a damper on that.

Of course, he commanded the fiery powers of suns: a little ice wasn't going to slow him down, as cracks started appearing almost immediately, Scorched Earth breaking himself free with a scream.

He got met by more orbs, several of them slamming into his body with more impact then fists, throwing him to the ground. He cursed and looked at his attacker, who he didn't recognize: he or she was wearing black and a blank helmet…and was firing more orbs at him. Scorched Earth hurled himself out of the way as they exploded where he had been and hurled a Scorch Bolt, which exploded on the ground in front of the black-clad attacker and sent them flying.

Scorched Earth went after them, and pounced on the figure when he saw he or she hadn't gotten up yet, pinning them to the ground as he charged another blast.

"Ack! Wait! Time!" The black figure said, their voice muffled.

"Yeah right."

"Just wait! Argh…my head…"

"I'm not falling for it buddy."

"You idiot! I don't…argh…kill…no…won't…" The figure gasped, as he/she reached up and pressed something on the side of her head. "Ugh, that seems to help…get off me! I'm not your enemy!"

"Me and a sudden icing beg to differ."

"Look! I don't WANT to fight, there was a voice in my head…!"

"You might want to listen to her." Came another voice, and Scorched Earth looked up to see Savior standing there. "Remember, the Psycho Pirate's over there with Alex, more likely then not. It wouldn't be hard for him to him to make a few people go against the grain with his powers. Not that that excuses your behavior, young lady. Get lost, if your helmet can protect you from it."

"Believe me, I didn't plan on coming here."

"Whoa wait how do…?" Scorched Earth said, confused.

"Doesn't matter. Scorched Earth, the OMAC's can't attack the villains. Use that if you can. I can't hang around." Savior said, as he ran on.

"…I'm so confused."

"Start by getting off me." The black-wearing figure said, as she wriggled free. "Now if you don't mind, I'll be going, so you can…"

"Awwwww leaving already birdie? But you just got here!"

The strands of red power slammed against Scorched Earth's face and chest, knocking him down, even as he saw that the same strands were striking down Scorched Earth's previous attacker. He shook his head and tried to get some sense back…and then the thread wrapped around him and slammed him into the ground. Headfirst.

"Get lost freak. Three's a crowd." Asphyxiation said, as he hurled Scorched Earth away. "And you, little bird, looks like your ugly friend isn't around. Which means…"

"You STILL…!" The female said as she tried to fire one of her launchers.

Jack seized it and crushed it, bringing a cry from the girl as he slammed another line across her face, cracking the faceplate as he pulled her in, ensnaring her with strands that kept her from fighting back.

"I made a promise birdie. And the heroes, the thief, they can wait a bit. You first. Sing." Jack Djinn smirked, as he cracked his fingers and then closed them around her throat.

While some of the villains were apparently having disagreements on how to operate, others were working together fine, as Ragnarok furiously tried to hold Murmur's dagger away from his eye: Girder had knocked him down and Murmur had pounced on top of him, and Ragnarok was so busy to keep the knife away from him that he wasn't thinking of using the Catalysts.

At first anyway.

"Mbrce th slnce." Murmur said through his sewn up mouth.

As Ragnarok reached up with his free hand and yanked off the psycho's mask.

"EAT DIRT!" Ragnarok yelled, as a section of the heated rock shattered into dust and flew into Murmur's face, blinding him, and Ragnarok quickly pulled himself free.

"Hey Rag! Be careful!" He heard a call, and glanced over to see Savior. "Try not to touch him! His whole outfit's rigged with…" Was all Ragnarok could make out as Savior ran out of earshot, stopping temporarily to help Hex with a few OMAC's (and maybe he said something to her, Ragnarok wasn't sure). But he'd heard enough.

"Don't touch him?" Ragnarok said, as he turned to look at the recovering Murmur.

And then he kicked the ground, as a large chunk of stone flew up and hit Murmur right in the face. He went down like a ton of bricks.

"That'll do pig. That'll do." Ragnarok said.

Then the shadow fell over him. Ragnarok turned around.

"You shouldn't have forgotten about ME!" Girder yelled as he reached out to crush Ragnarok's head.

"Didn't." Ragnarok replied. "Glomp off."

And the section of rock under Girder sprang up like a Jack-in-the-Box, hurling the metal mutant off into the air with a faded yell. Ragnarok didn't care where he landed: his metal body would keep him alive, and he was out of Ragnarok's hair…

**_"Terminate."_**

A shield of rock flew up to protect Ragnarok from the blast, as he thrust out his hands, the Dark Catalyst in his chest surging with power as Ragnarok fired off blasts of flame modified by his central artifact, frying the OMAC's systems much like Scorched Earth and Metatron were.

And speaking of Metatron, he was still trying to fend off the giant Ibac, and much like Potent, he was getting really pissed off at the whole process. Enough screwing around: the claws were coming out.

Literally, as Ibac, having pinned Metatron to the ground much like Potent had been by his two attackers, tried to punch Metatron's head in, something that had already failed three times (the two had been pretty much rolling on the ground, Metatron foiled in his attempts to get fully to his feet by Ibac's grip). Instead of just escaping this time, Metatron sacrificed his shoulder, hissing loudly as the fist came down on it, but it gave him the opening he needed, as his claws snapped out and Metatron dug them into Ibac's arm, yanking down as hard as he could. As he expected, Ibac's much tougher skin kept him from ripping the muscles to shreds, but he still ripped a deep gash. Ibac recoiled away, yelling in pain, and Metatron struck, shoving himself along the ground, twisting on his shoulder, and slamming out his foot into Ibac's ankle. Ibac yelled even louder and nearly fell down, finally allowing Metatron to push himself away and get to his feet.

"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF…!" Ibac roared, and then he got a face-full of Metatron's golden energy, staggering back, even as Metatron threw himself into gear and ran, twirling around Ibac in a circle as he fired blast after blast, all of them striking Ibac in his face and upper torso, the giant unable to grab Metatron now that he was up and in gear.

Metatron finished by blasting Ibac in his wounded ankle again. The giant went down to one knee, and Metatron sprinted away.

"COME BACK YOU…!" Was all Ibac got out.

As Metatron ran back, leapt, and slammed both his feet into Ibac's face, throwing him backwards into a boulder with terrible impact. Ibac shuddered and then went still.

"You asked." Metatron said, as he cracked his neck and looked around.

"Hey Met, heads up!"

"Huh?" Metatron said, as he whirled around…and saw Yin stretching himself back in preperation for something. "Yikes!"

Metatron dove to the ground as Yin completely his pullback and sprang, hurling the trapped midget in his grip off into the distance.

"WE WERE JUST PLAYING…!" The Toyman wailed as he vanished into the distance.

"…You know, he could land badly." Metatron said to Yin as he resumed his normal form.

"I can live with that." Yin said, and stretched over to aid Hex and Metatron with the OMAC's. Metatron would have helped, but they seemed to be holding their own, so he took a moment to look over the battlefield…

Donar slammed Mjolnir across Bizzaro's face.

"Fun!"

And again.

"That tickle!"

Bizzaro returned the blow twofold, blood spraying from Donar's mouth as he staggered back, and then Bizzaro did a little leap and slammed his fist down across Donar's head and shoulder: the godling went tumbling across the ice, losing his mystical hammer in the process.

Donar rolled over to his stomach and gasped. This was not going well. But he was far from beaten. His grandfather hadn't faltered in the face of Jormungandir, and his father hadn't when his grandfather had needed aid trapped under the body of Hrungnir: he could beat an imperfect duplicate!

Of the world's greatest and mightiest hero, Donar reminded himself.

"Now me not use pretty hammer, like you!" Bizzaro said, as he landed nearby and bent down to Mjolnir.

And remained bent down, as he tried to lift it.

"Ugh! Uh! This light! Light as feather!" Bizarro said as he strained mightily, but the hammer wouldn't budge, the ground cracking under Bizarro's feet as he tried mightily to lift it, to no avail.

And then Donar's hand came down on top of it.

"Please, allow me my assistance."

Donar swung the hammer up in a vicious uppercut, staggering the duplicate. Mjolnir, forged in great furnaces by the dwarves Eitri and Brokk, could only be lifted by someone in his grandfather's bloodline. If anyone else tried, the result was clear, as Donar whirled and rammed the hammer into Bizzaro's gut, then spun and slammed him across the face again.

"Wheeeee! This terrible! Now me not act like you, in turn!"

And Bizzaro inhaled and blew out, spewing a terrible gout of fire that engulfed Donar, who yelled and staggered back, leaping from the flame, his hair and clothes on fire, which Donar managed to extinguish with a summoned blast of wind.

"Odin's beard, fiery breath? How did that…" Donar said, and then he remembered: bizarre BACKWARDS duplicate of Superman. Where Superman had freezing breath, Bizzaro had fiery…

"Me lose now!"

The punch sounded like a thundercrack, and sent Donar flying across the field, smashing through some OMAC's and nearly into Nightwing, who dodged at the last second. He saw a purple and white blur fly past him and another thunderous blow, and decided this was a battle he'd best stay out of. He had plenty of his own problems, like…

Another cracking blow, and then a screaming gray form flew past him as well, crashing into a giant boulder of ice that collapsed on him, burying him. Nightwing turned to see Superboy and Wonder Girl, still in the mid duel-punch pose that had finally disposed of King Shark.

"Nice." Nightwing said.

"Why thank you." Superboy replied, and gave some attacking OMAC's a dose of heat vision again, while Wonder Girl settled for her fists. Nightwing bounded over to them, and was about to say something, when he heard something else: someone yelling his name. How he heard it over the din of battle, he wasn't sure…

"NIGHTWING!" Came the scream, and Nightwing tried to follow it…his eyes briefly saw Savior, before a squad of five OMAC's attacked him from the side and Savior vanished into the masses again.

Had he been calling for aid? Or…

"Dick watch out!" Wonder Girl said as she suddenly dropped down in front of him and deflected several thrown daggers with her bracelets. Nightwing looked at this, surprised, and briefly cursed: they couldn't just keep brawling out here, they needed to move forward, or they'd end up exhausted and vulnerable.

"Hey missy, this is personal business that was about to be settled here!" The killer known as Brutale cursed as he pulled more knives from his many bandoliers of them: he was an old friend of Nightwing's from Bludhaven and he had a few scores to settle.

"I'm ok Cassie. Help Conner with the OMAC's." Nightwing said, and leapt to the attack.

Savior was ticked. He'd been close, so close, and then he'd been forcibly sidetracked. And life kept rubbing salt in the wound, as no sooner had Savior dealt with the OMAC's (and that wasn't getting any easier, for him anyway) then he'd come under fire by four different types of sub-machine guns: he'd thrown up a shield and borne it out as he glared around it, looking at his garishly dressed attackers, who had to be wearing some kind of personal heating device to keep from freezing, as they fired at him with such mad joy. They were the Body Doubles, professional assassins, and they'd fallen in love with the idea of pumping Savior full of holes.

Like hell, as Savior sent twin strands of the Shimmer through his foot, under the ground, and out around the Body Double's ankles, the lines seizing both and yanking on them so violently the crazy women nearly did a complete 180 switch of where their feet and heads were, as Savior dispelled the shield, yanked the strands up through the ground, and violently slammed the screaming girls together. Three times in quick succession.

He discarded the limp bodies and ran on, trying to find Nightwing again.

Only to find an ancient looking man with a long beard and a gray outfit and coat trying to stab him in the chest with a lightning bolt shaped dagger.

"Give me your LIFEEEE…!" Cicada hissed as he lunged.

Savior kicked the dagger out of his hands.

"Oh get a life!" Savior cursed, and Shimmer-whacked the Flash villain aside so hard he nearly flew twenty feet before he landed, as Savior ran on.

Two more OMAC's lay ahead. Savior dove onto his hands and flipped high into the air, sending twin lines flying from his hands and plunging into the OMAC's heads from above, as he landed behind them and yanked, both tearing through their design and slamming them into the ground. Savior removed his lines and whirled around…

The power-charged nightstick almost pulverized his skull, as Savior jerked and then threw himself backwards, flipping over and landing on bended knees.

Then he truly saw his attacker, and his mouth went dry.

"Very nice dodge kid." The man said, as he spun the nightstick around so it was pointing away from Savior. "I think I know you, but do you know who I am?"

"Prometheus." Savior said. Clad in a purple outfit with a white cape, golden armor on his arms and shoulders, the material ridged with strange balls (Savior couldn't tell why), and an electronic helmet on his head exposing only his mouth behind a glass shield, Prometheus was a pretty recognizable villain. And Noel wished he wasn't there. He may have been a relative newcomer, but people in the villain community called Prometheus the 'Anti-Batman': his villain debut had been nearly beating the entire JLA. Armed with synthetic armor that greatly augmented his fighting progress as well as being a genius and an Olympic caliber athlete, you'd think Prometheus wouldn't needed a weapon like his crackling supercharged nightstick. But Prometheus preferred it. It made it more fun. For him.

"So you do know me. You must be in with the Bat somehow then." Prometheus said, as he flipped his nightstick around again. "Good. This will make this even MORE enjoyable."

* * *

Robin hated being at a loss. 

And he hated it even more when it SHOWED that he was at a loss: leaders led by example, and if you put forth a poor example…which is what Tim really wanted to do, in the form of grabbing Viridian and yelling in her face. Of course, that would serve no purpose: Viridian would be unaffected, his team would be disturbed, and it wouldn't make the static buildup from the bad sci-fi movie problem magically go away.

So he compromised.

"So you are telling me there is absolutely NOTHING ANY of us could do?" Robin snapped.

"I didn't say that."

"You have to…what?"

"I said we cannot do anything. By that, I meant you and I Robin. We, as two, can do nothing." Viridian said.

Robin stared, and for a moment he almost punched the robot: damn machine precision.

"All right then Bliss, who CAN do something?"

"Myself and Terra have a possibility. Terra would have to elevate me into the sky with a rock platform of sufficient strength: while up there I believe I could manipulate things so I could call the electricity discharge and direct it in a far more concentrated way into the Detroit River. Of course such an action will probably ruin the ecosystem that remains in the body of water, and there is a chance anyone actually on the river will be cooked alive, but considering how choppy the waters are only lunatics would have to still be on the water and if that is the case one could say they knew the risks…"

"ARGH! Why didn't you mention this before?" Robin yelled.

"Because I cannot do such a thing and shrug it off. It will require me to channel electricity far beyond my safety parameters, most likely resulting in my complete systems and structural failure. And I have no desire to commit suicide for a temporarily solution to a problem."

"Viridian, you wouldn't be committing suicide. You're a robot."

"Racist."

"WHAT?"

"You take my inorganic nature and use it to decide whether or not I should seek destruction without consideration of the consequences. You may as well considering all Asian people math geniuses, or all African-American males possessing extraordinarily large…"

"Argh! Viridian, we don't have time for this! I just want to save these people!"

"I fail to see the ultimate reasoning. The world is so damaged, reality so abused…" Viridian said, glancing up to the sky, where through the brief gaps in the clouds one could still see the sky filled with Earths. "That you may save them just to damn them. I say that if it all comes down to a dice roll, then we should move on to a more suitable area and let your species' gods' play."

Beast Boy felt a chill go down his spine when he saw the look that came over Robin's face.

"All right then." Robin said, as he reached for his utility belt. "You wish to play that way?"

He unsnapped a small black device.

"Short range EMP. And it WILL get around your protections, Viridian. So either do as I say, or you can cease to exist right here and now."

"How droll." Viridian replied in her eternally unconcerned tone. "Threatening my destruction to get me to go to my destruction. How very human of you."

"Argh. BLISS. You can back up your brain. Our communicators would have more then enough space to store all of you, why do you think I'm always upgrading them? When this is done, you can build another body. YOU CAN COME BACK! Call me a racist or a machinist or whatever you want in that regard, but it doesn't change the fact that YOU CAN COME BACK! WE CAN'T! Don't you see? We NEED you! You can commit an act of great sacrifice and survive it! And right now, such an aspect is very desirable."

"It does not change the fact I will most likely be destroyed, nor do I want to be." Viridian replied.

Robin's fingers tightened on the device in frustration.

"But it is clear you are being ruled by your irrationalities, like most of your species are in this time of crisis. Yours is simply projected through different channels." Viridian said. "And I am aware of the wisdom of dying later rather then dying right now. So I will do it. But know that this changes nothing. This will save no one, and you are still a racist."

"Fine. You can file a hate crimes suit against me when this is all over." Robin said. "Terra?"

"Already got it." Terra said: she'd called up the biggest piece of hardened bedrock she could find while the two had been arguing. "Your ride, miss."

"Goodbye meatbags." Viridian simply said, as she stepped on the rock. Robin grimaced, but he gestured for Terra to send it up.

Viridian sighed as she rose. Why did she stay with these teenage heroes? They'd cost her her original body, and now it looked like they'd do it all over again. Maybe she should have joined the Society: self-preservation probably fit in much more strongly with their overall viewpoints.

It didn't matter though, as she hadn't, and hence here she was, as she rose up into the crackling sky, every inch literally dripping with power, begging for an outlet, a release.

Viridian had modified her systems on the way up, as she un-shrugged her massive gun and locked onto the body of water beside the city.

"Hear me." She said calmly. "I am a machine. To any and all meatbag gods, I defy you!"

And she activated another part of her that would serve as an excellent conductor for electricity.

The concentrated blast of lightning that struck the rock nearly blinded the Titans and almost caused Terra to lose her concentration, and even as the Titans tried to blink the spots out of their eyes a gigantic bolt of lightning surged away from the strike point and struck the Detroit River. The focus blast was followed almost immediately by another, and another, in rapid fire, a gigantic lightshow that only a very few people got to see because most were cowering in their homes awaiting the end of the world.

And then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over.

The Titans lowered their hands from their eyes, staring up at the sky, now relatively calm, and, almost on reflex, Terra began calling her rock platform down, even as Robin blinked the last of the spots from his eyes and pulled out his communicator for a scan.

"…Static building negated, levels down to much safer…" Was all Robin got out before the rock came back down to the roof.

Viridian stood there, frozen in place, her body scorched a midnight black. The Titans looked at the sight.

"Viridian?" Nigel finally asked.

And then Viridian's head collapsed, swiftly followed by her whole upper body, the lower region following suit, the entire structure completely devastated and unable to hold itself together, shattering into a thousand incinerated shards. It was a pretty damn unpleasant sight.

Robin sighed deeply.

"I'm sorry Bliss. I really am."

"It doesn't matter. You're still a racist." Viridian said from Robin's communicator. Robin managed to keep his jerk from surprise minimal.

"You said to download myself into your communicators. I did. Though I'm afraid I had to delete a majority of your personal files in each. Robert, does one really need so much…"

"OK!" Robin said. "That problem's solved. Let's go deal with the rest and move on!"

"The problem is not solved. I negated this static buildup, but only briefly. Even now it begins to rebuild. The maximum amount of time before another eruption, which I will not be able to stop, is 64 minutes at most. I told you to leave this city, that sacrifice was pointless, but you would not listen. Therefore I am not sorry." Viridian said.

"A lot can change in an hour." Robin replied grimly, as the Titans leapt and flew from the roof.

"I fail to see what could." Viridian replied.

* * *

Raven's eyes blinked open. 

Her room looked so strange brightly lit was her first thought.

The second was she was alone, as she sat up.

She felt much better then she had moments before, so either magic was back on track or it was currently in a surge: in any case she didn't feel like her limbs were made of lead any more. She slipped out from under the covers, and to test herself she tried calling her cloak to her. It came, and she slipped it on. Well, that worked, but that didn't mean she was fully restored yet.

Her communicator was resting by her bedside, and Raven picked it up, turning to the general channel, even though she probably knew the result.

"Raven here. I'm back, for the moment. Anyone respond?" Raven asked.

Nothing but static. She was truly alone.

Raven sighed and dimmed the lights back down: they were hurting her eyes, as she sat on the bed and tried to decide what to do. Where were the Titans?

She tried to reach out to find them, but all she got was a patch of faint, scattered jumbles: Raven had no idea if what she felt were her friends or just some random people somewhere. And considering the state of the world, brief touches of pain, fear, and adrenaline-charged anger didn't mean much.

Of course, it was better then the old days. Such a strong outpouring of emotion would have sent her into a near catatonic state, terrified of the feelings awakening her dark side, the side of her father…it seemed like an eternity ago, a lifetime ago.

She wondered where Noel was. She didn't think he was dead, she could have sensed that, she was certain, but the rest…and what of Kyra, their daughter?

The thought bothered Raven. She was barely still out of childhood herself, the thought of having a fully grown one of her own was…disturbing.

But all the same, she hoped Kyra was all right. Like father, like daughter.

* * *

Kyra was all right, in the sense that she wasn't dead yet. 

"Groddy grahhba…!" Kyra hissed through her teeth as she sent a giant bull at Fatality, only to have her effortlessly dodge it and come back at her, swinging her deadly energy staff. Kyra's chest was saved from being crushed as Kyra formed a giant slingshot around her own body and rapidly threw herself backwards, as she tried to get her thoughts organized.

But Fatality was relentless, merciless, a factor that had served her well in murdering Green Lanterns across the galaxy. Lanterns that had not deserved to die, but Fatality certainly thought they had.

The thought enraged Kyra: her training had been like any boot camp. She'd been taught to form that special bond with her group of neophyte Lanterns, the kind that had made the brotherhood among soldiers so strong, the kind that made soldiers dive on grenades to save their 'buddies'. And here was this alien, a murderer of her fellows, and all because…

"All right!" Kyra snapped, as twin spears formed in her hands and four more materialized around her, floating in mid-air. "Come on you…!"

Another crossbow bolt flew at her head: Kyra snapped her head to the side, and as Fatality charged in Kyra turned her six spears into a whirling, slicing shield of death, which would tear through anything that tried to attack it.

Except Fatality's staff: it smashed right through the constructs and forced Kyra to retreat. Damn, as she reformed her spears: she kept forgetting that blasted weapon could disrupt the hardlight constructs like OMAC Viridian had. If she just played defensive, she'd be toast.

Well, the best defense was a good offense as the saying went.

Fatality was charging in swinging again when Kyra zapped to the side and stabbed out with all six spears, the alien furiously dodging, even as Kyra flew upward, the spears whirling around her, and lanced down: Fatality dodged once more…and didn't dodge the seventh spear Kyra had trailing behind her, the weapon whacking her over the head and stunning her, as Kyra rammed into her and sent her falling down into the ice. Fatality snarled and flipped away as Kyra tried to land on her again with the spears, furiously giving chase when Kyra leapt away in a long flip from the blow. Fatality snapped out several throwing knives and hurled them at Kyra, but her whirlwind of spears battered them away, and then Kyra jerked back from Fatality's follow up skullcrusher attack and thrust her spears out again, this time in a spread out pattern that swung around Fatality. Enraged, the alien smashed two of the spears…and was left open as one slammed against the front of her knees a moment before another slammed into the back of her head: the fact that it was the shafts and not the points didn't lessen the pain much, as Fatality lost her staff in the process. Kyra called her spears back and lanced them all out again, only for Fatality to dodge them all and lunge, grabbing Kyra by the throat as she tried to pound her head in with the other hand: Kyra hit the ground and used the leverage against the alien as she hurled Fatality over her, flipping back up as Fatality landed well, flipped back over to her staff, and charged in again.

It was ironic that Kyra and Mary's foes had nearly mirror weapons, as the White Hole swung her mace down, shattering the ground once more as Mary leapt back and vanished into shadow, as six dark manifestations sprang up around the White Hole, and even as the White Hole recovered they attacked, besieging the alien warrior with rapid-fire strikes all over her body, her form jerking and writhing under the impacts.

However, the six shadows only managed a few combined 'drive by blows' before they surged away and reformed into Mary, as the teen gasped for air: she was getting tired.

And the White Hole looked as fresh as ever, as she reached up and placed her lost hat back on her head.

"What's wrong mutt? Spend too much time in the kitchen with your genetic trash of a mother? It doesn't matter how much power you have: you haven't the slightest clue how to use it."

"RAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Mary screamed, as an energy bolt flew from her mouth and exploded against the White Hole. She didn't even stagger.

"Pathetic." The alien said, and leapt in. Mary recalled her weapons and met her in mid air with her own slash, but the alien expertly deflected the attack with her own, causing Mary's arm to slam into the ground and leaving her flank wide open, as the White Hole spun and slammed a devastating kick into her side, sending her flying once more.

"Uh…" Metatron thought, as he saw all the chaos: maybe he should help. But then again, out on the ice he would weaken rapidly. Maybe he should stay here and be the rear guard as Nightwing had ordered. Then again…

"Ah man…" Yin said, looking at the same thing Metatron was seeing. "This isn't going very well!"

"Maybe we should help?" Ragnarok asked.

"Help? Oh you'll be needing it!"

They could be called hands, except they were nearly the size of people, as they slammed Ragnarok and Hex into the ground, as Yin recoiled and looked up.

"Madame Rouge?" He said in confusion.

An extended arm whacked him aside, as the woman set down. And she wasn't Madame Rouge. She looked like her, but she was too young.

"Wrong generation." The young woman snapped. "I'm Gemini. And you're ALL DEAD!" Gemini snarled as she leapt forward, shapeshifting into a Xenomorph as she tried to bite Yin's face off.

"Crap." Metatron said, as he saw this happen from a distance. "Well at least I can…"

"You will serve nicely."

The vial exploded in Metatron's face, and Metatron immediately began choking, his lungs filling with a vile gas…as his systems suddenly went crazy, his heartbeat speeding up so much it felt like his chest was going to explode, as Metatron tried to find his attacker, even as he was suddenly struck by intense vertigo…

"Yessssss…" The Scarecrow said, as he watched the teenager writhe in the grip of his fear toxin. "Very nicely, indeed."

* * *

The Psycho-Pirate gasped, as he recoiled, a backlash of his mental control running through him. Ugh, it wasn't like the old days: he couldn't constantly control so many strong minds, trying to drill through various safeguards, and everything. 

He'd done enough. Without his emotion manipulating the effects on the villains would fade with time or distance, but he'd accomplished his goal: the heroes and villains were tearing each other apart, even as uncountable masses of OMAC's swarmed around and through the whole thing. Alexander was right: the heroes were finished. He was done worrying.

He could focus on other things.

And he had something he wanted to do very much…

Alexander was almost regretting his chosen strategy: the battle was making so much noise. He'd gotten used to quiet: the quiet of the false paradise, the quiet of his Arctic base, and now…

It didn't matter. His goal was closing in. He could feel it, as his gaze came to another Earth. A very familiar Earth.

"Earth-3. My home." Alexander said to himself. "Perhaps there is something there…"

Alexander brought Earth-3 closer, as his eyes spied something else. Something he also recognized.

Earth-2.

* * *

Scorched Earth came groggily back to life…in time to see Hellhound, or rather the new Hellhound, reaching down to stab him in the throat. 

"BACK OFF!" Superboy yelled as he hurled Black Spider (another very new villain) into the red-garbed Hellhound. Scorched Earth blinked.

"You all right?" Superboy asked.

"…Yeah, thanks."

"Ok then, GO BACK TO BLASTING!" Superboy said, as he flew over and slammed into an OMAC that was sneaking up on Wonder Girl. Scorched Earth floated up and shook his head: that Australian had hit him hard…

And then Hellhound and Black Spider were back, eager to extract their pound of flesh.

Scorched Earth made them settle for a pounding.

Donar saw this briefly, having used a concentrated whirlwind to briefly distract his immensely powerful foe. Scorched Earth seemed to be handling himself all right. Some weren't: Donar caught a glimpse of Brick Wall, who was still getting the utter hell beat out of him by the General, the General's greater speed and agility serving him immensely well against the ponderous giant on the side of the angels. And he…

"ME AWAY!" Bizzaro yelled joyfully as he swung down, his axehandle blow slamming up against Mjolnir, the impact nearly driving him Donar to his knees, and before Donar knew what was happening Bizzaro had seized the hammer and yanked, spinning while holding it and whirling Donar around, Mjolnir's effect not kicking in because Donar WAS holding the hammer…

Key word was, as Donar let go purposely and tumbled painfully to the ground.

"Boo!" Bizzaro cheered, as he triumphantly held Mjolnir above his head.

For the second it took for its magic to kick in as the hammer dropped right down on the clone's head, smashing him down into the ground face first with a thunderous crack.

"Owie." Bizzaro's muffled voice came from the snow.

Donar ran back over, looking down at Bizzaro's limp body. The freakish being seemed to be out.

Donar nudged it with his foot. Nothing. He kicked it. Still nothing. He looked around: well, others needed help…and was that Jack Djinn? Donar owed the future version of him a few good blows for what he'd done to the fledgling Titans of the future. He was fighting, or choking, someone Donar didn't recognize, as he seized his hammer and lifted it up.

"Me am master of obvious!" Bizzaro said as he sprang up like nothing had happened and hammered Donar with a thunderous uppercut, sending the godling flying again. Bizzaro merrily went after him.

"Oh please struggle girlie. It makes it more fun for me." Asphyxiation said as he continued to choke the life out of the black-clad female. "And let's get you out of this helmet…"

The girl stomped her foot at the right angle finally, and a section of her boot opened and a noxious gas sprayed out, enveloping Jack Djinn. He recoiled, gagging, as his Grimmer grip loosened…and his victim broke free, as she viciously drove her fingers into his eyes and then kicked him in the side of the head. Jack staggered and cursed, as his former victim gasped air and tried to escape.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Jack roared, as he grabbed her by the ankles and yanked her off her feet, causing her to fall suddenly and violently, striking the side of her head and rattling her brains around inside. "No one gets away from me, birdie. Come here, you just made it worse…"

In the distance, Mary bounced across the ground and came to a rest on her stomach. She briefly rose, and then collapsed again, face down on the ground, her shadow weapons disintegrating. Blood pooled around her from several wounds.

"I expected nothing less from Nigicalnack's mongrel spawn." The White Hole said, landing as she swung her mace onto her shoulder. "Get up. So you can at least die on your feet like the small part of you that is actually Blacktrinian."

Nightmare stayed down.

"As you wish. Down, up, I SHALL FEAST ON YOUR FLESH TONIGHT!" The White Hole bellowed, and charged.

Nightmare stayed down, which actually infuriated the White Hole: she hated to kill an opponent who had already given up mentally.

"GET UP!" She roared, as she closed in.

And Mary looked up, her eyes burning with black power.

"I can't. I'm **_CONCENTRATING."_**

The White Hole's eyes went wide.

As Mary surged up and fired.

The blast was so powerful it shook the whole ground, blasting a cloud of icy dust and inky black smoke into the air, as the White Hole exploded from it like she'd been launched from a catapult and flew far far off into the distance.

Mary's ears heard her land, as she lowered her arms. But she wasn't done, as she spied the White Hole's shattered mace…and lost hat. Mary snatched the hat up and filled her nostrils with her scent. She'd show that White Hole just how powerful her bloodline was, as Mary sank into the shadows.

Nearly a mile and a half away, the White Hole sat up from the small crater she had made in landing, none the worse for wear…though she looked very confused.

"Ugghhhh…what's going on? Huh? Ugh, drugs must have kicked in again…" The White Hole said, sounding noticeably more calm and benign. "What happened, I remember that human city called New York…"

"STYLES." Came a voice dripping with malice, as Mary rose up from the shadows, clutching the discarded hat, as she tossed it aside, and, as darkness flowed out from around her, called up the nastiest glaive that had ever been wielded by a Blacktrinian. "You deride my father, made him sick with fear, left him in pain that never went away. What you did to him, I will repay TEN TIMES OVER…"

"Oh, you found my hat." The White Hole said, as she picked it up and put it on. "Thanks."

"….HUH?" Mary said, utterly floored by this sudden change. The White Holes did not do trickery in their combat styles: they used their mouths to chew up and spit out rather then try and lie.

"Do I know you miss? Could you tell me what's going on?" The White Hole said as she got up. "I see a huge fight. But I'm not sure of the stakes."

"…What? Styles, you and I were…and then…and all…!" Mary stammered.

And then she remembered the future. In the heat of battle she'd forgotten.

A change in her path. Apparently, she was already walking it. Before someone had forced her on a detour.

"Was I in there? Damn, someone must have induced my original mental state before I started medicating." The White Hole said as she got up. "Well, if we were fighting, we're done. I'm leaving…wait. Was anyone else with me?" The White Hole said.

"What?" Mary said, still not believing what was happening…never realizing her gigantic attack had knocked the White Hole clear of the Psycho-Pirate's fading talent, completely cutting off his influence like a switch.

"Was anyone…oh man, OMAC's, those are nasty little…SINE!" The White Hole called, as she sprinted off, back towards the battle.

"…It's official. We're in the Twilight Zone." Mary said, as she headed after the radically changed Blacktrinian.

* * *

Unlike the White Hole, whose brain had been vulnerable to such mental control, Prometheus' helmet protected him from such influences. He was completely calm and in control, which explained why he'd strolled around a bit and watched some of the fights before he decided to get involved. 

Savior didn't know that fact: probably best. It would have terrified him even more.

"Yes, I think I recall coming across you in my research. Would be acolyte of the bat, sniffs around him and his wards like a puppy. Would that be accurate?"

Savior didn't say anything. For once, he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Well then, no need for any of the GOOD stuff." Prometheus said, as he reached up and pressed a button on his helmet. "I suppose the combined fighting styles of David Cain and Lady Shiva will be enough."

Twin appendages, on each side of Prometheus' helmet, began to crackle and surge with power, electricity coming off in long waves from them. Savior actually took a step back.

"Come then, Savior, as it were. Let me show you the folly of standing in Batman's shadow." Prometheus said, and lunged, swinging his nightstick around in a complicated pattern as he attempted to distract Savior away from where the fatal blow would be struck.

Savior leapt backwards several feet, and then, amazingly, he actually threw up his hands.

"I surrender!"

"You WHAT?" Prometheus said, actually stopping. "You just give up? What kind of a sycophant to the Bat are you?"

"The smart kind. Spare me. Please." Savior said.

"Oh this is the wrong tack kid. I HATE beggars." Prometheus said. "I'm just going to hurt you even more. I think I'll start by breaking your arms and jamming the broken ends into nerve clusters."

"Please. I am beneath you. Out of your league. I don't deserve you."

"As a certain cowboy once said, deserve'd got nothing to do with it." Prometheus replied as he approached.

"Oh no…" Savior said, as Prometheus spun his nightstick some more. "This is not a fight I can win."

"Too bad for you."

"Maybe. Because I happen to know someone who can." Savior said, and bowed.

As the Nightarangs flew over him. Prometheus made a brief yell and got his nightstick up, the energy-charged weapon expertly wielded as Prometheus knocked the weapons out of the air, though the process peppered Prometheus with tiny albeit sharp bits of shrapnel. He lowered his nightstick and growled, as Nightwing dropped down next to Savior.

"Nice guess. How did you know I'd come to save your bacon?" Nightwing said.

"I have little faith in many things Nightwing. One of them is with you."

"Heh. Your jaw must get heavy with that silver tongue Savior." Nightwing said as he produced his escrima combat sticks. "You go rally the troops. I'll deal with Prometheus."

"Deal? I single-handedly dissected your mentor, boy. I am not some villain you can just beat up and throw back into an asylum!" Prometheus said.

"You sure you can do this by yourself?"

"I got it." Nightwing said, his eyes intense.

"Before I go, I noticed a flaw in…"

"The OMAC's won't attack the villains. I know. I found that out when they didn't blast me while I was re-introducing an old friend to some old acquaintances of his." Nightwing said (meaning his fists to Brutale). "Go! Quick!"

"Yes sir." Savior said, and leapt away.

"Henh." Prometheus said, as he twirled his nightstick one more. "You should have kept the kid. Might have bought you an extra five seconds. I think I'll mail you to Batman eyeless, earless, and limbless, so all he can do is hear you scream."

"Are you actually going to attack, or try and talk me to death like most of those villains I've locked up in Arkham?"

Prometheus' hand was a blur, as he hurled several darts at Nightwing, who leapt to avoid them, as Prometheus leapt to meet him, his nightstick going straight for Dick's heart.

* * *

Kyra hit the ground and flipped over, trying to ignore the pain in her side as the spears continued to whirl around her. God. Damn. It. For every move she had, Fatality had a counter. 

So far, as the alien charged in again.

Kyra hurled a spear at her, and then again, and again, the alien dodging rapidly as she closed in.

As Kyra instantly reformed the spears, having successfully drawn Fatality in for her close range attack, as she seized her hands on two of her spears, swinging her left arm in a wide arc and then her right arm after it in an up and down sweep arc, then leaping and flipping as she stabbed with two spears and slashed in an outwards arc with two more, then leaping forward as she rapidly spun two more spears, and then finally reared back and whirled all her spears around her in a wide range circle of death.

It was a magnificent display of weaponmanship.

Unfortunately, Fatality blocked every single blow.

"GUH?" Kyra gasped, as she realized she hadn't lured Fatality in for her trap: FATALITY HAD LURED HER INTO HER OWN.

The staff end pierced into her chest, and as Kyra screamed Fatality thrust her weapon up and swung it down hard into the ground, and then swung it back up and hurled Kyra away.

She glanced at the blood on the end of her weapon, and then licked at it, grinning madly.

Then she saw the girl moving: damn, she'd thought her blow wasn't deep enough. But she'd fix that, as she went after the girl for the last time…

* * *

Raven sucked air between her teeth. Was this her daughter? Could she even tell with how badly the magics were screwed up? Raven didn't know, and that made her feel even more helpless. 

She had to do something. Even if she couldn't locate her friends, her…family…surely she could do something. Jump City surely had problems. It was better then just sitting around.

Yet…she didn't go.

Instead, she rose from her meditative position, her efforts to find her friends fruitless (even if she had briefly located her daughter, it didn't tell where she was), and walked over to her cabinet, covered with mystical artifacts and charms. Including one quite special to her.

It was in the rough shape of a T, and it was bound and sealed with a part of each and all of her friends. It was her 'homing beacon', a magical creation of her own design that would serve to call her back to the Tower if she was lost. It was it she had seized on during the teleportation accident, otherwise she and Noel would have been scattered on the literal winds.

Maybe she could use it…no. Magic was too damaged, too uncertain. The risks far outweighed everything else.

…Still…

And then she sensed it.

A moment before it appeared, a shifting portal of black, opening up in the middle of her room.

And as Raven stared at it, she realized one thing: she'd seen a lot of stuff, and hence her perception was drastically different from the average human.

But she knew damn well when she was in the presence of something that shouldn't exist.

But it was here.

And it was coming for her.

* * *

"Solomon Grundy…" 

"YEAH YEAH I HAVE IT MEMORIZED!" Potent yelled as he violently kicked Grundy across the head, staggering the zombie. What was going on? How did Grundy keep shrugging off his blows? Had whatever brought him back this time pumped him full of steroids before sending him off? It was REALLY starting to make Potent angry…

Especially when Grundy backhanded him, sending him flying back several feet. He flipped after his second landing on the ground though, snarling and raising his gem sword.

"All right, then! I'll just hack you into so many pieces they'll need to invent a new day of the week to find the time to count them all!"

Potent charged.

Solomon Grundy did as well, as they collided…

And then were shoved aside as the White Hole barreled through them, knocking them both down.

"Huh?"

"Grundy?"

Potent was first up and took advantage of it, as he slashed out, slicing a deep wound into Grundy's chest, greenish blood spurting out as Potent slashed again, and again, carving Grundy up…

"Solomon…" Grundy gurgled.

Potent leapt over his punch and buried the hilt of his gem sword into the top of Grundy's skull with a sickening cracking noise. Grundy staggered…stumbled…and fell on his face.

"Born on a Monday…" Grundy whispered, and stopped moving, as Potent stepped back, taking deep breaths.

"EJ!"

Potent turned as Mary appeared before him.

"Did you just see an alien run…wow you're a mess. You MUST be slipping." Mary teased.

"Oh shut up! This is all minor surface damage! You can't hurt me…and yes, alien! Went that way! What gives!"

"You got me!"

"Pretty man fun to play with!" Bizzaro said, as he slammed an elbow into Donar's back, sending the teen godling falling to the ground once more. Donar hurt all over, and he was nearly at a loss. He'd used virtually everything he had except…

"Me coming down!" Bizzaro said as he dove towards his 'playmate', his simple mind easy to manipulate by the Psycho-Pirate into being so violent.

It was his last trick, but a good one, as Donar rolled out of the way and sprang to his feet, as Bizzaro stomped where he had once been.

"Hey! You not move! Fair!" Bizarro complained.

"As you say." Donar said, and raised his hammer.

Bizzaro didn't understand what Donar yelled: no one in the villain group probably would have, as it wasn't likely any of them spoke ancient Norse.

But Bizzaro didn't need to puzzle over it long, as Donar thrust Mjolnir up and a blast of lightning flew from it and up into the sky, Bizzaro following it.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!"

As it came back down.

On Bizzaro.

Ten times harder.

The massive form jerked under the sheer power of the electricity, as Donar lowered his hammer.

Blackened and smoking, Bizzaro slowly lowered his head.

"…Ears tingly." Bizzaro said, and fell on his face.

Donar dropped Mjolnir and leaned down, hands on his knees, taking deep breaths as he wiped his face.

"Well, at least I still have it." Donar said.

"I gotcha!" Jack Djinn said, as he yanked his target back into his grasp. "It's time for you to learn birdie: I do what I want, when I want, and I want you. SCREAMING." Jack said, as his hands closed over the girl's throat again, the Grimmer holding her down as he pressed in on the windpipe, the girl gasping in the helpless way he loved…

A finger tapped on his shoulder.

"Buzz off! This one is mine! Get your…!"

A clawed hand came down, shredding the Grimmer like paper before another one seized Jack and whirled him around, as the misogynistic Australian suddenly found himself staring into the cold, hateful face of the White Hole.

"…Oops." Jack said.

The White Hole seized him by the throat, lifting him up effortlessly.

"Oops doesn't begin to cover the beginning of it." The White Hole snarled. "Normally, I would eat your living organs, but I don't have the time to hang around. So I'll just settle for the next most painful thing." The White said.

Then she slammed Asphyxiation into the ground. Hard. Four times.

And that was just the warmup.

"ANYONE WHO HAS A GRUDGE AGAINST JACK DJINN, FREE PICKINGS!" The White Hole yelled, as she wound up and hurled the murderer away. She was sure someone had heard her: she could yell VERY loud.

Jack Djinn crashed through a wall of ice and tumbled around, cursing as he tried to get the Grimmer back in order. Stupid alien, he'd get her, her and her friend, he'd find a way, as he got up, reforming his hands, getting charged…

"DJINN!" Came a bellow, and Jack looked up as Donar came down, hammer charged. "FOR ODIN! FOR ASGARD! AND ESPECIALLY FOR ME AND MINE!"

"BLOODY HELL!" Jack screamed, as he tried to form a Grimmer shield.

Mjolnir smashed right through it and sent Jack flying backwards like a bullet, as he smashed through the same ice wall AGAIN and bounced violently across the ground before coming to a stop nearly 75 feet away, as he groaned and then passed out.

"Now that, tis satisfying." Donar said, as he swung the hammer around and then turned to see who needed aid.

"NAP DONE!"

Donar's trip through the ice wall was the one that finally shattered it to pieces, as Bizzaro laughed at the destruction and followed, eager to continue 'playing'.

"Sine? Are you all right?" The White Hole asked, as Jack's victim sat up, coughing violently as she pulled off her helmet, freeing a long mane of red hair.

"Stupid…bastard…next time, rip his head off and shove it up his ass so he can watch me kick the crap out of him." Sine cursed.

"It's a promise." The White Hole replied. From a psychotic butcher to a concerned woman, it was quite a jarring change.

"Beck…you ok? Someone was messing with our minds…I was somewhat protected but you…"

"I'm ok now. Got far away enough to snap out of it. Let's get out of here before it really goes to hell."

"It hasn't already?" Sine said as she stood up, coughing once more. "Ugh, it's official. Joining the Society was a mistake."

"Entirely?" The White Hole said, as she actually looked sad.

"I didn't say that." Sine replied. The White Hole grinned.

"…What…the….hell." Potent said, as he and Mary watched the two run off, quickly disappearing into the masses. "I was told the White Hole was an irredeemable butcher, the scourge of civilizations, and a woman who drank oceans of blood and thirsted for more."

"You'd be amazed what one person…well, and a metric ton of pacifying drugs can do to a person." Mary replied.

"What?"

"Don't you ever read history? The Society broke her out of prison, they wanted her power. But she was too damn unpredictable on her own, they didn't want her slaughtering half their number on a whim. So what did they do? Drug her to the gills. Take away whatever made all these villains so mad, it appears said gills-level of drugs reasserted themselves. Hence, the White Hole you just saw."

"…But you'd think the drugs would…and they can't just turn on and off, the drugs themselves couldn't do it, so how did they and...so...wait, did we just see two villains break the hold over them through the power of friendship or bonds or love or SOMETHING in that vein?"

"Looks like it."

"UGH. I cannot believe how sappy that is."

"Canadian forest in winter level."

"Promise me that will never happen to us."

"Sure."

"In fact let's go trash some more things to make sure. I call…"

"Monday." Solomon Grundy said as he charged into Potent's back, carrying him off once again. Mary stared for a moment in surprise, and then she laughed.

"I think he likes you!"

"JUST HELP ME DAMN IT!"

"Oh ok, if you can't do it yourself." Mary grinned, as she raised her hands. "I call upon the shadows…"

"No, you don't."

Mary's shadow literally rose up in front of her and hammered her with a punch to the face, causing Mary to stumble back, caught completely off guard as she landed on her rear, as the shadows took shape before her.

"My, aren't you just overflowing with dark power." The Shadow-Thief said. "I think I'll take it all."

* * *

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Hex cried as she flew back, an ugly slash wound on her sternum, as Gemini reformed the hand that had clawed Hex into a hammer and swung it faster then Ragnarok could react, the hammer impacting into the side of his head and pitching him onto the ground, a crack running across his goggles. 

"Stop it you…!" Yin snapped as he stretched up and around Gemini, trying to entangle her shifting form with her own.

"What is this?" Gemini laughed, as she expanded outward, and Yin found he couldn't keep up, yelling with pain as he felt his skin painfully tense and his bones pop. "You call yourself a shifter? You aren't worthy to be in a slingshot!" Gemini laughed as her neck surged forward, her face and head transforming into a mass of cables that closed around Yin's upper half and contracted violently, even as her shifting lengths, er, shifted and smashed Yin into the ground.

Scarecrow saw this in the corner of his eye, but he didn't pay much attention: he wanted to see how long a teenager's strong heart held out before it gave out.

"Yesssss…do you feel the terror?" Scarecrow hissed/laughed, as Metatron continued to agonize, caught in whatever terrible visions the fear toxin had induced. "Perhaps we need even more of a motivation…"

Metatron tore his hands away from his eyes…even as Scarecrow shoved his own masked face into his. This would startle even normal people, much less someone given as big as a dose of the fear toxin Metatron had been given. Of course, he had to get close to the teenager…but he was so freaked out that the risk was minimal.

"Stare into the face OF FEAR!" Scarecrow thundered.

Metatron recoiled, clamped his hands to his face once more…and then yanked him down, his golden eyes now clear and blazing. Scarecrow had erred. He'd assumed Metatron was human. He wasn't. It had taken him a bit to shake off the fear gas, but his system had rapidly broken it down and cleared it, leaving him normal, and angry.

Something Scarecrow could see only too clearly.

"Oh dear."

"STARE INTO THE FIST OF MET!" Metatron yelled, and punched Scarecrow so hard his children probably felt it, sending the lanky psychopath flying backwards, spinning in mid-air as he landed on his face.

"Ow." Metatron said, shaking his fist. Well, so much for him. If he only had a brain…

"You…"

The sound that came from the Scarecrow's mouth was even nastier then before, and even as Metatron watched, worse was to come, as Scarecrow's body jerked violently…and then began to expand.

Metatron's eyes widened. He didn't know all the details of this world. Didn't know that here, Crane was forever experimenting with his fear toxins as well as other chemicals, and that that had finally had a new horrific effect, contaminating Jonathon Crane's body and mutating it into a brand new form, as the Scarecrow's form racked and shifted, growing ever larger, as he stood up, Crane's burlap mask having merged into a terribly twisted and organic face. In times of great stress, or to save his life, like a familiar green-skinned character from another comic company, Crane would undergo the transformation…and emerge even worse then before.

And he was done, as he turned and roared, towering over Metatron, now a twisted giant scarecrow/creature, a Scarebeast. Spittle dripped from his fanged maw, a trace or two of string still interwoven around the deadly teeth.

"NOOOWWWWW…" The Scarebeast growled, as it lurched forward. "Youuuuu…will learn…the TRUE MEANING OF FEEARRRRRR!"

Metatron watched as the monstrous new creature approached, raising a hand with clawed fingers and hard, needle-like straw that secreted a natural fear toxin, a hand that would either tear Metatron to shreds or condemn him to madness…

As Metatron held up his own hand, and his golden power ignited on it.

"How about a little fire, Scarecrow?"

WHOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSH!

"ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" The Scarebeast bellowed, his body igniting from the concentrated blast of heat, the flames quickly spreading to engulf his whole form, as he wailed and ran, fleeing from the rock and off into the ice.

"…He'll fall down, the ice will put him out. Yeah." Metatron said, and turned to where the other battle on the rock was.

At least the OMAC's were keeping their distance, Metatron noticed. What he didn't know was that was because Gemini was thoroughly thrashing his three companions, and per their programming they were not allowed to interfere. The master shapeshifter, Yin still prone at her feet, was once again laying a beatdown on Hex and Ragnarok, the bad luck blasts and rock projectiles seemingly having no affect on her, as she transformed her limbs into deadly spiked whips and lashed at the two, battering them down.

"This is the best you can offer?" Gemini laughed, as she stretched upward like a snake, her legs having merged together into such a tail. "Why should I even bother?"

"Oh dear." Metatron said, and broke into a run, as he sprinted to a wall, ran up it, bounced off, ricocheted off another wall, and unfurled his wings briefly to give himself the proper boost as he soared up, bounced off Gemini's elongated back, and flipped over as he landed in front of her via grabbing her shoulders.

"Hello." Metatron said, and viciously clawed her across the face.

"ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!" Gemini screamed, as Metatron dropped himself down and leapt away to get away from the flailing mass that Gemini had become.

"Nice shot." Hex said, back on her feet despite her injuries.

"Not really. I was going for her throat." Metatron replied. Yin bounced over.

"This isn't good guys. I can stretch and bounce and all, but she can do it better, and transform as well. We…" Yin said.

"KILL YOU!" Gemini shrieked, as her mass expanded and her form took on the shape of what looked like some demonic creature from some horror comic or anime. "EAT YOU!"

"Will kick her ass anyway." Metatron said.

A massive clawed hand slammed down where the group had been, as they scattered in different directions.

"Keep her away from the recovered people!" Ragnarok ordered.

"Got it." Metatron said, as he charged another shot of power and hurled off twin golden blasts. They exploded against Gemini's large face, and she recoiled and wailed. A slight ghost of a smirk crossed over Metatron's face.

"They don't like heat." Metatron remarked to Yin, who was near him. "They never do."

That was the last thing Metatron said.

The wave of ice came from nowhere, and before Metatron was even aware of it it washed over him, freezing him into a statue.

Yin's eyes went wide, almost bugging out in a comical effect. Cold affected him badly, but nowhere as badly as it affected Metatron. Frozen solid he could be dead in a minute, less, and…

Who had frozen…

"Funny…" Killer Frost said from her platform of ice. "Neither do I."

* * *

Mary found herself hitting the ground again, and she growled and surged back up. But the form she slashed at just moved and shifted away, untouchable, living shadow. And she couldn't… 

Shadow-Thief punched Mary in the gut and then slammed repeated punches across her face. Mary snarled in rage and fired black beams from her eyes, but Shadow-Thief just stood there and took them, the darkness stopping dead.

"Ohhhhhhh delicious." Shadow-Thief said, and kicked Mary under the chin. She hit the ground again.

Nightmare got back up, but her eyes were cloudy and dull, dead on her feet. Pleased, the Shadow-Thief surged in.

"I can use these powers better anyway darling." He commented, and grabbed her by the neck.

Mary screamed, and the Shadow-Thief laughed, as the darkness began to be drawn into him, his size increasing, so much power, he could…

Wait…the power! It was stopping!

It was…reversing!

Shadow-Thief tried to recoil, but his hands were stuck, as Mary's glazed eyes cleared in an instant, cold fury beneath them as she reached up with one hand and seized Shadow-Thief by his throat in turn.

She'd been bluffing. Luring him in.

"No one, and I mean NO ONE, beats ME when it comes to the power within the shadows!" Mary snapped, and pulled with all her might.

Shadow-Thief screamed…and then the darkness tore off him, revealing a man in a shirt-circuiting suit, as the man spasmed and then went limp in Mary's grip. Mary tossed him away in disgust and cracked her shoulders and neck. That had been a nice little recharge actually. Now to help her…

Three beams hit her in the back. And unlike some other things, this hurt. A LOT. A cry of pure agony escaped Mary as she was thrown down, once again, her back and shoulders in agony, as she whirled around.

OMAC's. Approaching slowly, floating in the air, their eyes still glowing…solar power. They'd zapped her with solar power. It had hurt the Lord and it could damn sure hurt her, and if they hit her with too much she was…

The three fired their solar beams again.

A shield of black energy sprang up between them and Mary, Nightmare barely managing to hold it, but she did…long enough for her to send the power outward and envelop the OMAC's. A gesture from Mary, and their armor and circuitry was torn from their human hosts, as the innocents fell down onto the ice.

Mary stood once more, taking deep breaths. Damn. They'd found her weak spot. And how many…

And Mary's eyes slid to the side.

OMAC's.

Beside her.

Behind her.

And as Mary turned and looked around, all around her. Dozens of them.

And there wasn't any help near her. She was on her own.

They floated there. Why? Battle planning? Probably. Wipe out the hero and do it in less then two seconds…

Yeah, right.

Mary held out her hands, and once again the shadow glaive and daggertails formed.

"Well come up blue boys. I ain't getting any younger." Mary said, and flew forward.

The beams flew to meet her.

* * *

Deadly beams of heat flew from Superboy's eyes, burning another OMAC into submission. Heh, he remembered when his heat vision had first started kicking in: it'd be so random he'd find it not activating in battles and activating when he was doing something much more benign, like say, swimming. Such were the problems of being a hybrid clone…but he'd overcome them: he could now fine tune it to such an extent that he could take down an OMAC and not harm a human host… 

…So where was this fine control, this learning, when he had needed it earlier? It had vanished, to the wind. Maybe it had as much substance as the wind…

Another OMAC crashed down near him, and as Superboy was snapped back into reality Wonder Girl leapt into his field of vision, her bracelets holding off two OMAC's slashing blades. Damn. Was he still having these doubts? This was not the time…!

Superboy would have gone to help, except someone beat him to it, as Savior leapt in from behind and smashed his feet into one OMAC, knocking it down as he disabled it, leaving Cassie to handle the other one.

"How goes the breakthrough?" Savior asked, and Conner realized he was talking to him.

"…Not so well."

"Sucking." Cassie added, as she indicated the seven OMAC's that were coming to replace the two, and the many many more behind them.

"I gathered. Well, no fault of yours."

"Says who?" Superboy asked.

"Says ME. I study battles as a hobby Conner. And…JACK!"

"I'm here!" Scorched Earth said as he flew over their heads and fired off another wide range Scorch-Wave, sending yet more OMAC's smoking to the ground.

"Thanks. How are you feeling?" Savior asked the future hybrid.

"Part of me is thinking it would like to nap, the other part wishes this would never end. Bar's kinda in the middle at the moment."

"Don't do anything too big. You're a valuable asset. As are you Conner." Savior said.

"Look Noel, I don't want a pep talk…"

"Yes, very bad time! But Conner, it is also a bad time for…" Savior said.

His eyes had just been looking around, keeping an eye on their flanks, and at the sheer distance Savior should have never seen it. But he did, and once he did, his eyes locked onto it.

"…You." Savior said.

"It's a bad time for me?" Conner asked in confusion.

"No. Yes. I…all right." Savior said. "Dick is occupied, he may not be able to return to lead the charge. And I…I can't either. So Conner, you're in charge. You're the front line. You have to break through. I'll send all the help I can muster, which may not be much, but it's up to you. We have to get to that Tower. We've already outlasted our welcome out here, by far. You have to do it."

"But…"

"Conner, there are two kinds of men. The righteous who think they are sinners, and the sinners who think they are righteous. I know what kind you are. So do they. We all do." Savior said. Wonder Girl and Scorched Earth nodded. "Time for you to realize it. I know you can do it."

"You're just saying that."

"Like the other Superboy said. Both words. One truth. But I, or he, can't reveal it to you with talking. Only you can, with action. So go. Be the hero. Superboy." Savior said.

And then he was gone.

"…Yeah, he was always doing that in the future too. Oh look, here I am with my magical talking powers! I swear he could balance a car on that tongue, he works it out so much." Scorched Earth said, trying to lighten the mood. "I believe him Superboy. I know that with you, I'll come back alive."

"As will I." Wonder Girl said. "Go on. Superboy."

"…Well first could you lean back for a second…" Superboy said as he gestured to Scorched Earth, who, confused, did so…as Superboy blasted yet another OMAC away.

Leaving roughly the 8,000 behind him.

Despite it all, Conner Kent, Superboy, found himself grinning.

"Titans, GO!" Superboy ordered, and the three charged.

* * *

Savior was unaware that while giving Superboy a brief pep talk before running off that maybe there were others who could use his help in a more solid way. 

Like his daughter Kyra, Myth, a Green Lantern, who was finding out just why Fatality had left a trail of slain Green Lanterns in her wake, as she got up to one knee, hand pressed against her chest. Her armor had served her well, keeping her ribs from breaking or her organs from being pierced, but it still hurt like hell, along with the half dozen or so wounds elsewhere on her body.

And Fatality was coming.

To her, Kyra was just another notch on her belt.

Kyra'd belt her alright, as she stood up, her rage flowing through her, as her ring began spitting sparks, a condition that occasionally happened when a Green Lantern was filled with a certain kind of intensity (or if you were Guy Gardner, all the time). She hadn't known Stewart very well when he'd died, but his friends and allies had told her much of him afterward, and in his ring she could almost feel the sorrow that had haunted him to his heroic end…the sorrow only addled by this woman…

Kyra was a Green Lantern…and more. And she'd see if she couldn't do something about the mistakes of the past, while in the past.

"You took his ring. How? Why?" Fatality asked, as if she'd read her mind (or maybe she'd realized it before and was just mentioning it now). "It doesn't matter. All you've done is ensure an end more painful then most. I wonder if Stewart will weep when he finds you."

Kyra locked eyes with Fatality.

"YOU. STUPID. TWIT." Kyra hissed. "You KNOW the truth. Xanshi wasn't destroyed by John Stewart. Stewart tried to SAVE your planet. He made a mistake in doing so alone, and because of that he could not stop it from being destroyed. That mistake, that failing, weighed on him for the rest of his life. He didn't go a day without thinking about it. He never forgot it. Ever. But you…you turned his tragic mistake into a self-righteous reason to murder Green Lanterns. You know that's true! And you know why you can't ever face it…"

"BE QUIET!" Fatality screamed, as she swung her deadly staff down.

Kyra caught it, by the shaft, with her ring hand, away from the deadly energy that disrupted her powers.

"Because you need that excuse to cloak your bloodthirst. Maybe at first you were misguided, but you're not any more. You just LIKE to kill. The Green Lanterns are just a convenient target for your own inability to control the sadistic desires you've developed. And in that you're more of a disgrace to your race then STEWART COULD EVER BE!"

The energy staff shattered in Kyra's grip, as Kyra followed that up by forming a dome of energy over her body and shoving Fatality back: her accusations may have stunned the psychotic alien for a bit but that wouldn't last long, as Kyra flew backwards, and indeed Fatality followed, screaming at her again, cursing her in her native tongue, but Kyra didn't care: the rage in Fatality was mirrored in her, as she kept their eyes locked and brought her ring to bear.

"And I think it's time you tasted some of the suffering that he carried. EAT UP!" Kyra yelled, and began firing rapid-fire discs, razor sharp, that whirled towards Fatality in a storm of deadly projectiles, but Fatality still dodged them all, effortlessly, as she brought up her crossbow and fired again, and again, Kyra dodging the shots as she continued firing her discs.

"YOU CALL THIS A RIGHTEOUS ASSAULT! THIS IS PATHETIC! DISMAL! WRETCHED!" Fatality shouted as she kept dodging. "YOU KNOW NOTHING! YOU WILL SUFFER! I WILL EAT YOUR HEART…!"

And then Fatality was suddenly jerked back, stopping dead as she gasped. What had happened? She had avoided all the projectiles, she was…

Fatality looked down and saw it.

A green line lay across her body, a thread composed of hardlight, holding her back. She snarled and tried to get her arms up so she could break it…

Except another line appeared across her, and then another, pulling her arms back again, ans Fatality looked up at Kyra, floating there, as one of her green discs whirled back around Fatality…

And then Fatality saw it, like they appeared from thin air: the discs were not alone. They were all at the end of long thin threads…threads she had not seen until now…but how…

She didn't know, and it was too late: Myth hadn't been firing a series of projectiles. She'd been weaving a web, as the discs had flown around Fatality, their lines trailing around her…and around the chunk of glacial ice that was behind her.

And with that they contracted, yanking her backwards with a scream as they slammed her back first into the ice, even as more and more threads wrapped around her, pinning her to the glacier, she couldn't move, how, she had seen the discs clearly, no threads, HOW…

Kyra floated down in front of her as Fatality shrieked and thrashed, a tiny web of lines snaking from her ring, connected to all her whirling discs, as she closed her eyes and nodded solemnly.

"Rest in peace John."

And Kyra threw back her hands, and with a scream fired a gigantic blast of power: no shapes, no fanciness, just pure, unrivaled impact.

Fatality saw it fill her eyes, a vision of green.

The blast smashed the alien through the glacial ice and beyond, as Fatality flew off into the distance, so far away she disappeared. She hit a mountain side, and did not get up when she came to a stop.

Kyra lowered her ring, as the glacier collapsed before her. She snorted.

"Flawless victory." She quipped.

"No, far from it actually." Came a new voice.

Kyra knew that voice.

And it turned her heart to ice.

No.

NO.

Kyra turned around, slowly, hoping, wishing…

Wish not granted. She'd dealt with a nightmare to one Green Lantern…only to find herself face to face with the greatest nightmare any and all Green Lanterns had ever faced.

Purple skin. Black hair and neat mustache. An outfit of black and blue that mirrored her own. And a ring of Qwardian yellow.

The Green Lantern's greatest foe. Their greatest failure.

"But I think you'll provide me with some amusement." Sinestro said.

* * *

Donar may have never met Bizzaro before today, but he was rapidly approaching the top of Donar's enemy list, as a combination punch/shove sent the godling sliding back on the ice before he stopped, hunched over, breathing heavily, Mjolnir gripped in both hands. How could such a mortal creature be so mighty, so indestructible? It seemed the blows that Donar had rained down on Bizzaro would have left every Frost Giant that had ever lived in their graves, but Bizzaro barely seemed affected at all, his mad grin eternal, his medallion of BIZZARO NO 1 only somewhat dented from the glancing blows it had taken. 

"Me am still very amused! Me think me not end this now!" Bizzaro said, and charged forward once more.

Donar blinked, and then grit his teeth. Was this the end? Was this his Ragnarok? (Not the hero).

…Then so be it. He would fight with every drop of blood shed, with every breath left in his body, as he raised Mjolnir…

And then Savior came down on Bizzaro's shoulders, the Shimmer firing out and going into each ear.

Bizzaro stopped dead in surprise, a look of confusion crossing his face, as Savior jerked downward, putting his mouth near Bizzaro's ear.

"Bizzaro, listen. I am YOUR WORST ENEMY." Savior hissed.

Silence.

"No. Me not do what you wish." Bizzaro said, as his hands went limp at his sides.

Donar almost dropped Mjolnir. He'd been battered across the Arctic by this creature, and then Mr. Collins…

…lived up to his reputation: a great tactical mind. If you couldn't beat 'em, join 'em, or in this case, make them join you.

"All you all right?" Savior asked.

"…my bloodline can sustain far more then whatever thrashing this creature could present…but I must ask…how did you do that? So quickly?"

Savior's brow was furled, and he took a second before answering.

"Let's just say…I had a bit of a road map." Savior replied. And he did. He'd tried to hack into a Kryptonian brain no more then 24 hours ago. Of course, that didn't exactly make him an instant expert, and if this had been anything else Savior would have never tried it…but he'd made a desperate gamble. Bizzaro was the imperfect clone of Superman, instinctively doing the opposite of whatever he would do (including beat up superheroes, if one didn't count the Maxwell Lord factor)…so it stood to reason that his brain would be the same, or quite similar, to Superboy-Prime's…just with everything backwards. And so, Savior had gone into the brain with the concept that everything would be like that…reversed.

And lo and behold, he had been right.

Of course, that was just half the battle. Bizzaro's brain was more then a backwards Superman's. It was a place of utter confusion and madness, a place utter alien to the human mind…a fact that was already clawing at Savior's own brain. It was like trying to manipulate a puppet with the wooden sticks covered with razor blades, to describe it one way. Savior couldn't do this all day: hell he estimated doing it for more then two minutes would risk brain damage on his part. He had to be FAST.

"Go help Superboy! He needs all the help he can get! Hurry! I can handle this!"

"Are you…"

"YES! GO!"

"Yes sir. Thank you, and fare thee well." Donar said, as he flew off.

"What we not doing?" Bizzaro asked, as Savior fought furiously with the lunacy within Bizzaro's brain to try and issue him commands.

"We're NOT playing "Follow The Leader". STAY!" Savior yelled, and Bizzaro flew forward, whooping joyfully.

The squad of OMAC's that Savior directed Bizzaro to never knew what hit them.

* * *

Unfortunately, he didn't direct them at the squad of OMAC's that was currently trying to blast Nightmare out of existence. 

Then again, Mary probably would have yelled at him if he'd tried.

The blasts of solar power flew over her shoulder as she dodged and spun, slashing across the OMAC's in front of her and tearing through their armor like wet toilet paper. Mary's control of her dark power could let her set her 'offensive state' so it only affected certain things: steel but not wood, concrete but not plastic, and in this case, robotics without flesh. One thing was for certain, she at least wouldn't have any innocent deaths on her hands.

Except maybe her own.

And she was far from innocent, as she leapt away and spun again, her daggertails tearing through six more OMAC's, and then leapt and spun again, her glaive leaving four more OMAC's on the ground. More solar beams blasted at her, but Mary just leapt backwards and then to the side again, using her powers to scramble their targeting units.

Another wide roundhouse slash disabled two more OMAC's. Another leap to the side, and Mary stabbed out her daggertails, impaling three OMAC's and hurling them into three more, as Mary blasted all six and then disappeared into the shadows on the ground, popping out elsewhere in the mass and slashing three OMAC's across the back.

The cyborgs converged on her once more, as Mary dodged, spun, and slashed, carving a vicious circle as she shattered OMAC's left and right (man, were they getting weaker? What gave?), but more came.

And some were adapting, as they flew up above their fellows, trying to blast Mary from above. Mary did a high leaping backflip away from the first converged blast and looked up, and then snorted as two more OMAC's tried to ambush her from behind. One leaping slash took them down, as Mary landed in a crouch and then sprang upward, flying upward into the air, slashing and tearing through OMAC's on the way up, and then she snapped back her right arm and hurled the glaive out, the shadow blade whirling through the air and tearing across the OMAC's scattered above Mary, as she fell once more, her daggertails taking down four OMAC's below her before the glaive flew back into her hand behind her back, and Mary slashed them both down as she landed, blasting eight more of the robots into inactivity as she landed. Yes, she was definitely getting somewhere…

She sensed it more then saw or heard it, a sudden terrible sense of danger that screamed at her to move, and move she did, as she leapt and twirled away…

A second before a blast of massive power utterly obliterated the spot she had been on. Mary spun once more and landed, slashing thrice to deal with the OMAC's surrounding her, and then turned to look at where she instinctively knew the source of the blast had come from.

Someone had tried to back-shoot her.

No…not just someone.

He stood off on the distance, on another tall pillar of ice (were they natural? Thrown up by the abuse of the ground? Both? Who knew), his white cape flapping gently in the wind as he looked down at the young woman.

Mary knew who he was. Surprised she hadn't seen him until now…when he'd wanted to make an entrance. Of all the things that had triggered this Crisis, he was perhaps the first in line.

"Dr. Arthur Light." Mary growled.

Dr. Light didn't know the girl, didn't know if she knew him. She wasn't his 'type' so to speak, and he'd been fine with just watching the battle and waiting to deal with the scraps (they were Titans after all, he HATED the Titans). So why had he suddenly felt the urge to blow this girl into oblivion? And more importantly, how had he missed?

Maybe something primal in Light sensed a threat, light and darkness. Or maybe it was just bad timing. But Dr. Light figured he rarely missed twice, as he thrust up his hands.

The blast obliterated the ground where Mary had been…a second ago.

A second later, she emerged from the shadows of the ground nearby. And she did not look happy.

For a moment though, she hesitated. This wasn't some punk she could easily thrash. Dr. Light's goof days were long gone, the damage to his brain fixed and his skills restored to their previous peaks. And he was a master of all forms of light. If he got her with one good solar blast, or maybe one good blast period…

But…he'd tried to kill her when her back was turned.

Just like all the cowards who had called her freak and said she shouldn't exist. None of them had the slightest courage to do it to her face. Always from behind. Always.

Not this time.

"Light." She growled, and charged towards the spire of ice.

Surprisingly, Dr. Light did not fire again, as he watched the girl sprint towards him on the ground below. No, for some reason…he was intrigued.

"Hmmmmmm." He murmured. Well, he needed a warmup before he put his plans into action.

She'd do just fine.

"Heh." Dr. Light said, as radiant power lit on his hands. "Come on girl. Come to The Light."

* * *

The Arctic wasn't the only place that war raged. 

In Detroit, the Titans fought furiously against a gang of six ragtag metahumans who had decided they'd rather loot the city then hide in it.

In space, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, not yet dead in this time, fought as skillfully and valiantly against legions of OMAC's as Mary had, as the many heroes within Brother Eye fought their way through defenses and hardships to accomplish their tasks.

And on Earth-2, the Elementals and their allies in the Justice Society fought the Scientist and his Air Elemental. At the moment, the good guys weren't doing too well there, despite having knocked the Air Elemental away just then.

"Aid, alone, it matters not Elementals. Your fate was sealed the second the second I learned of…" The Scientist said, and then gaped.

Everyone had stopped fighting. Everyone. None of them were following the Air Elemental to keep up the attack. They were all, instead, looking up, past him, as the Scientist turned around…

What he saw chilled even his black heart.

* * *

Elsewhere on Earth-2. 

"My telescopic vision still can't find…" Superman had been saying, trying to locate Earth-1, when he'd seen it.

A gigantic golden hand. A hand witnessed by too many other worlds. The hands of a man who would be a god.

"…What is that?" Wonder Woman said breathlessly.

Kal-L knew all too well.

"Alex."

* * *

"…Maybe Superman was right." Alexander Luthor said, trying to block out the carnage behind him as he reached for Earth-2. "Maybe Earth-2 has some level of MORAL value. Something pure to add to the mix." 

And so Alexander Luthor seized it, drawing it in.

The only blessing was that none of the heroes on Earth-2 were caught under the areas Alexander gripped to bring the planet to him.

That would not seem like a blessing in a moment.

* * *

She was Donna Troy. 

She had returned from death, found her true purpose, assembled heroes to aid her in it, gone into space to try and stop a war and then save a universe…and yet, as she watched the hands emerge from the purple rifts of energy, above the glowing golden cauldron that Alexander had made of the center of the universe, all she could do was stand and watch.

"…'A few seconds will make all the difference'.That's what the Titans meant. I can see it." Donna said: she did not mean the superhero team but the Titans of myth, who had brought her back from the brink after her supposed death and cleared the confusion of her life, even though it meant the end of theirs. "…They're going to die."

"What? Who is Donna?"

Donna watched, with the impotent rage and sadness of those who believed themselves powerless, as she saw the two Earths the hands had brought this time. Earth-3…and Earth-2.

"…Superman and Wonder Woman are going to die…"

* * *

Earth-1. The Arctic. The war. 

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Bizzaro laughed, as he ploughed through more OMAC's, Savior manipulating his blows so that even Bizzaro wouldn't hurt the humans inside…but inside Savior's head, it felt like he was taking those blows. He'd overestimated even the brief amount of time he'd had, spent too long trying to thin the herd while riding on Bizzaro's back like a horse (he was standing, the Shimmer strands in Bizzaro's ears serving as his reigns, so he didn't look too silly, he hated looking silly…)…when he should have been moving faster. Getting to where he needed to be, with what he'd seen…

And he couldn't just let Bizzaro loose afterward: he was way too powerful. He had to get rid of him.

"BIZZARO! LISTEN!" Savior snapped as he cleared the latest group of OMAC's. "When I let you go, I DON'T want you to fly to Pluto! Then, I DON'T want you to go back to the JLA Watchtower. Then, I want you to GET IN A REALLY BIG FIGHT WITH SUPERMAN." Savior ordered, hoping he'd found a suitable opposite for 'surrender to him.'

"No way!" Bizzaro said.

And then he turned upward and shot into the sky like a rocket, taking even Savior by surprise: argh, he was leaving already! He was still too far away from his destination! But…he couldn't make any changes, the strife radiating back to his mind was too great, he had to sever the connection, hope he could make it…

Savior pulled the Shimmer strands from Bizzaro's ears and, hundreds of feet above ground, leapt backwards and seized Bizzaro's ankles, swinging in a wide arc even as Bizzaro kept going up and hurling himself forward, towards the tower of ice and who stood on top of it. Bizzaro flew on, grinning obliviously, no longer a factor in the fight as he broke the atmosphere and flew on.

And Savior, once again, really wished he could fly.

He wasn't going to make it. It was too far. And a fall from this height, even with the Shimmer, was no picnic.

He tried forming wings: no dice, as he began to fall. A helicopter and a glider fared little better: he was still moving far more down then forward, plunging towards the Earth…

And then he came! Flying from somewhere, replacing the recently deceased Garfield Lyons, dead at the hands of OMAC's, the brand new FIREFLY!

"Do you know who I am!" Firefly II said as he flew in front of the falling Savior.

"Nope!" Savior replied, and bounced on Firefly in a way that would have made Mario proud.

That just stunned the flier, not that it mattered, as Savior already was executing the followup, as he fell past Firefly II…and shot out twin Shimmer lines, the ends biting into Firefly's armor.

"Wh-"

And Savior yanked, throwing himself back up into the air with the elastic effect even as he hurled Firefly down, the poor new villain screaming as he crash-landed, but Savior had already forgotten about him: he'd gotten the boost he needed, the ice tower was in sight, in reach…

Savior fired off another strand as he began to fall again, and the end bit into the ice wall of the pillar, as Savior waited another 2 seconds and then pulled the line taunt, sending him in one final spring in a wide forward and up angle, as he just managed to clear the top…

Right over his head.

How he'd recognized him at the distance he'd been at, standing on this giant tower, like a master of all he surveyed, Savior didn't know. But he had.

And he'd known his task in this battle.

Nightwing and Superboy would lead. Savior would do this.

He landed on the wide flat surface on top of the ice pillar, the giant column stretching nearly a mile into the sky, providing a wonderful view of the whole battlefield, as Savior landed and slid along the ice, never taking his eyes off him, as he slowly came to a stop.

Up there, for a moment, silence.

And then he turned.

The form so familiar to Savior, a Titan, he could tell from so far away.

The man who would make him do such a thing.

Even if it killed him.

Which it most likely would.

Looking at him, outfit so familiar, colors so well know…one sole eye looking at him from a mask of orange and black.

"Slade." Savior said.

"Collins." Slade calmly replied.

* * *

_"They're going to die…"_

The act of merging planets to form new ones is as unnatural as it came. And such an act could have utter catastrophic effects on living beings…even the mightiest on the planet.

But even the mightiest mortals were helpless before a god.

"Yes…I think so…" Alexander Luthor said.

And his hands began to push the Earths together.

* * *

Jack Djinn and Sine created by the author. The White Hole and H-041-E created by Jedi-And. Every other villain created by the writers and artists of DC Comics. 

_To Be Continued!_


	8. War: Die Hand Der Verletz

War, Part 3: Die Hand Der Verletz

Space.

The center of the universe.

Kyle Rayner knew the feeling of helplessness. Knew it quite well. Considering he was a Green Lantern, a soldier corps that wielded what many called the most powerful weapon in the universe, that should have been considered very surprising indeed.

But Rayner had always been different from the Green Lanterns that had come before him. He had never planned on becoming a superhero. True, none of his fellow Lanterns had either, but all of them had been chosen by their rings: Kyle got his because a Parallax-possessed Hal Jordan had destroyed the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe, forcing the last Guardian, Ganthet, to flee to Earth with the sole remaining power ring. Kyle had just been in the right place at the right time. On top of that, he has massive shoes to fill: Hal Jordan was not only universally respected among Green Lanterns, but among Earth heroes as well, and they were still reeling from his then believed sudden descent into madness and villainy.

Kyle had gone into this world feeling he would never have what it took. And it quickly became apparent that the world of being a hero was more then stopping bank robberies and fighting nutcases in long underwear. There were sacrifices and costs, some quite dear. Kyle had learned that in perhaps the worst way possible when, fresh into the beginning of his 'career', he had come home to find his girlfriend strangled and stuffed in a refrigerator, a victim of his new status as a hero. That death had haunted him ever since, and had driven him to accept that while he couldn't replace Hal Jordan, he could put his own name in its own place.

And Kyle had done just that. He had grown into his role, won the acceptance of Hal's confederates, and had eventually in the course of his adventures become the godlike being Ion, power he had used to revive the deceased Guardians and begin the framework of a brand new Corps. True, he'd still suffered setbacks and tragedy: his girlfriend Jade, a Green Lantern herself, had ultimately left him, and Major Force, the monstrous villain who had murdered his girlfriend, seemed to repeat himself by murdering Kyle's mother and stuffing her head in Kyle's oven (it was thankfully revealed to be a mannequin's head). And then Hal Jordan had returned from death and dishonor, and it seemed that Kyle would be forced into redundancy. When he'd first started out, he probably would have welcomed that chance.

Not now though. He was a hero. He had proven it and it was a role he was not willing to give up. And so he had gone into space, gotten involved in the chaos of the Rann/Thanagar war with several of his companions…and then, as Donna Troy had arrived with her handpicked superheroes to play her part in this Crisis, lent her his power once more.

And again, the cost and sacrifice had come about. One of the heroes that Donna Troy had brought was Jade, Kyle's ex-girlfriend. Jade, the daughter of Alan Scott, the very first Green Lantern, was a Lantern herself, but she did not wield a power ring: her power had been natural at birth. During their time together, her power had faded…until Kyle, during the brief time he was Ion, had give her some of his own to restore it, empowering her as a Green Lantern again.

And it had not saved her, as she had been gravely wounded in the chaos surrounding the Crisis by an electromagnetic energy wave, dying in Kyle's arms.

But before she had, she had given him back the power he gave to her once, and Kyle had transformed once more. More then a Green Lantern: he was Ion again, the brightest light in the universe.

And he'd seen too much damn darkness. Too much helplessness.

Even in Donna Troy.

He'd been standing near where when she had seen the hands gripping the Earths, as he tried to finish rounding everyone up for an idea he had. He had been the one asking her whom she meant when she spoke…

_"They're going to die…"_

Superman. Wonder Woman. The paragons that he'd try so hard to emulate.

The actions playing out before him were going to result in their deaths.

LIKE HELL.

"No Donna. They're not." Ion said, as he took off into the air (well the vacuum, he WAS in space), a radiant green aura suffusing his form as he zapped towards the gigantic hands. "They're NOT."

* * *

Earth-1. The Arctic. The war. 

Prometheus' charged nightstick could shatter steel, but Nightwing's Escrima sticks were made of a special supposedly unbreakable polymer. Just how unbreakable they were was yet to be known, as Prometheus barely missed his swing over Nightwing's head, as Nightwing balanced and swung both legs out, knocking Prometheus off his feet. The tech-genius landed on a hand though, and flipped back up, even as Nightwing did likewise. Rapidly spinning his weapon, Prometheus charged in again, as Nightwing ducked, dodged and blocked when he couldn't, feeling his arms vibrate every time Prometheus' weapon connected with his.

"Oh come on! Everyone talks about you Batboy! But I ain't seeing ANYTHING!" Prometheus said as he did a combination with his weapon and kicks, one kick catching Dick in the shoulder and knocking him back a bit. Prometheus charged in, swinging down, but Nightwing zipped away and inside Prometheus' range, as he planted one leg on Prometheus' knee and sprang up, slamming his other foot into Prometheus' helmet as he simultaneously flipped backwards. The 'Anti-Batman' staggered, but only a little.

Nightwing snapped out more Nightarangs and sent them flying, but once again Prometheus brought up his nightstick and smashed them out of the air. He grinned.

"You're just like him. A one trick pony. I'm going to turn you into glue." Prometheus said, as he leapt and swung. Nightwing dodged, Prometheus' nightstick carving into the ground, as Nightwing leapt back in with a punch.

Prometheus' arms seized his.

"Did I mention I added Judo-Master's techniques just now?" Prometheus said as he hurled Dick over him and onto the ground, hard. Prometheus leapt and stomped for Dick's head, but Nightwing was already springing up, as he fired off more Nightarangs. Prometheus, once again, smashed them out of the air.

"Quit running, Batboy! I'm not ready to break your knees yet!" Prometheus yelled as he went after Nightwing, who readied his Escrima sticks again.

Prometheus swung, and Nightwing blocked and whirled, slashing out a leg, but Prometheus ducked and blocked, trying for Nightwing's ankle again, as Dick spun away, flipped, and then leapt out of the way as Prometheus charged past him, his nightstick slamming into a tower of ice and sending shards of it flying, as Nightwing flipped away…and slipped. Damn icy ground, doubly damned for by the time Nightwing recovered Prometheus was on him again, doing wide thrusting and sweeping attacks towards Nightwing's midsection. Nightwing dodged and blocked, trying to keep his footing on the icy ground.

Which gave him ideas, as he lunged away and swept with his foot, throwing some snow into Prometheus' face. As Prometheus yelled in surprise, Nightwing tried to get him with Nightarangs for the forth time. For the forth time, Prometheus broke them all in mid-air.

"Ok, I now decree you can't do-HEY!" Prometheus said as Nightwing leapt in, rapidly swinging his Escrima sticks. Prometheus growled and blocked, but Nightwing's fighting style was quicker then his own and occasionally a blow landed on his chest and shoulders. Getting frustrated, Prometheus leapt back and aimed his gauntlet, and it fired, bullets shooting from the weapon, but Nightwing did a high leap over it and over Prometheus, landing…

And slipping again. Damn ice!

"Hey Ice Capades! Stop with the figure skating!"

The nightstick crashed down where Nightwing had just been, as he flipped away, slowed down by his need to be careful, as he found his back to the ice tower he'd seen earlier.

"So this is how Batman taught you: run away until your opponent decides you're not worth it! Well, I THINK YOU ARE!" Prometheus yelled, as he leapt at Nightwing. Nightwing jerked his head to the side as the charged nightstick shattered the ice again, and then he rolled, thrusting straight up and ramming both his feet into the still-coming-down Prometheus. Prometheus yelled in anger as he rolled with the blow himself, as Nightwing spun away, getting his sticks ready again as he glanced behind himself to check for ice…

Which gave Prometheus time to dart around to the other side of the ice tower. Nightwing blinked.

"Thanks for the idea BATBOY!" Prometheus yelled as he slammed his charged nightstick into the other end of the ice tower, this time purposely.

Causing ice on the other end to come shooting out like a bullet, and Nightwing yelled as they slashed across his body: they hadn't hit his eyes or anything but it still hurt like hell…

And that was just the warmup, as Prometheus leapt and smashed his nightstick into the top of the tower again, as the shattered lower section completely broke and tumbled towards Nightwing, who leapt away…

And slipped so badly he nearly fell on his face. This couldn't be coincidence, he hadn't had anywhere near this level of trouble before on the ice. Prometheus must have chosen it specially, showing his intelligence, as the ice tower crashed down…

And Prometheus leapt from the icy dust cloud that emerged, his nightstick a whirling blur, as Nightwing got up and stepped back, raising his sticks…

As Prometheus slammed his nightstick into the ground, causing ice to explode up and pelt Nightwing again, as he recoiled, covering his ices…

As Prometheus leapt again, catching Dick across the head with a kick and sending him sprawling to the ground. His ears ringing, Nightwing flipped back up, dodged away as Prometheus blasted bullets from his gauntlet again, and sprang in with his own kick…

Prometheus grabbed Dick's ankle and twisted, yanking Dick into the ground as he swung his nightstick up again and stabbed it at Dick's chest.

Nightwing got his Escrima sticks together at the precise point needed, as the weapon slammed into where they crossed as an X, as Nightwing kicked Prometheus in the ankle and then in the knee, shoving the nightstick aside into the ground as Nightwing whirled up and kicked Prometheus in the back of the head. The doppelganger grunted, but he wasn't stunned enough, as he spun and lashed his nightstick at Nightwing again. The crackling energy barely grazed Dick's chest, but it still made him feel like he'd been kicked by a mule, throwing him backwards. He landed on his back, flipped, and came to rest on his knees, gripping his ribs.

"Already feeling the effects?" Prometheus said. "Oh, there's a lot more coming Batboy. Because it's clear, just like your mentor, you can't keep up."

Nightwing answered with one final flurry of Nightarangs.

Prometheus almost seemed bored as he smashed them all, one final time. Nightwing's eyes narrowed, as Prometheus smirked and giggled in rapt anticipation.

"Hmmph. I'll give you one thing Prometheus. Your first near-victory as a villain was no fluke…but I also know why it was a near one and not one in and of itself."

"Oh? Enlighten me."

"You're clearly intelligent…but even the best brains can't think of all the questions needed to ask. Here are two. One, do you really think that, with as much skill as you showed, Batman wouldn't tell me that one day I could become your target? And two…do you really think Batarangs shatter so easily?"

Prometheus stood there. Why was he saying that his weapons shouldn't have been so…

It came to Prometheus, as he looked down on himself…at where the specks of shrapnel were still buried into his suit, armor, and helmet, shrapnel that clearly wasn't shrapnel at all: the Nightarangs had been specifically chosen to break and dig into him so…

Nightwing pressed the faint button on the thumb of his glove.

The electricity erupted through the madman, each tiny speck really a miniature taser, ripping through his suit and helmet's electronics, wracking his body, as he hunched and bellowed, trying to fight off the power, refusing to go down…

Nightwing figured he would, as he snatched up his combat sticks and hurled them at Prometheus' head.

Prometheus saw them coming…and dodged at the last second, despite the deliberating power surge, the sticks flying past him.

"Hah! Stupid kid! You missed!"

"Really?" Nightwing said.

As the sticks struck the piece of ice behind Prometheus, ricocheted off of it at an angle onto another piece of ice, and then deflected off it at a precise angle, maximum momentum maintained the whole way, as both slammed into the side of Prometheus' head, smashing half his helmet to bits as he pitched to the ground.

The sticks, having finally hit their target, had bounced off into the air again…and into Nightwing's hands.

"I'm not Roy, but I'm not bad." Nightwing said to his fallen foe. "That's the problem of starting at the top Prometheus. Nowhere to go but down."

And Nightwing turned and ran, taking advantage of the minimal OMAC presence: he had to get back to the front lines.

* * *

Slade Wilson. Deathstroke the Terminator. 

Many men and women claimed to be the greatest assassin on the planet. Deathstroke was one of the few Noel knew who could live up to his own hype.

He'd been on the receiving end of it. Him and all his friends and allies. The Titans vs Slade. A battle for the ages.

Last round.

"I must say Collins, I am surprised." Slade said, as he crossed his arm, his casual pose hiding an alertness and skill that radiated off him like a star: he could have unnerved Bruce Lee. "Drake I could see charging in pell-mell. Maybe the aliens, possibly the would-be comedian…but you? Who prided yourself so much on having a hold over strategy? Where does it say, in your many readings, to commit suicide?"

"Heh. You're right Slade. Sun Tzu may have said the equivalent of "You need not fear your enemy if you know him and yourself'…but the old bastard never met anyone like you."

"So then. You come not in wisdom, but in anger? Hate? Do you want revenge?"

"We all have something to take out of your hide Slade. I'm just one of many." Savior said, as he started slowly walking around the top of the ice tower, as Slade mirrored him.

"Yet you think you can do it by yourself. Ah Collins. I thought better of you." Slade said. "You were always your own biggest fan you know. No greater is your skill then in your own mind. But I'm afraid reality will paint a much harsher picture. You're less like your father then I said: he never would have ever considered such an idiotic tact you have chosen to take."

"My father would never be here. And neither should you. Why are you Slade?" Savior asked. "You're clearly not affected by whatever is motivating most of the villains down there. Maybe it's a side effect of your greatly developed brain, or maybe a safeguard you took in advance, or maybe it's just because nobody controls Slade Wilson. Even if you were warped here against your will, you had no reason to stay around and watch. Yet here you are. You didn't even move when I headed for you. So Slade, I ask you in turn: why have you chosen the choice you made?"

"You first Collins. Mine should seem obvious."

"Oh you know why Slade."

"Do you actually think the fact that you are ready and eager to fight me this time will change what happened the last time we sparred? Child, like you, I wasn't even trying. Even your sorceress calumniator couldn't keep me down."

"Yes, and you certainly bounced back in a big way didn't you? The elite of the Society, the villain among villains…" Savior said, spitting out the words like they were poisonous. "You murdered a CITY, Slade. Your status needed nothing more, certainly nothing like that! You committed GENOCIDE, Slade. How could I not come up here? Such a thing is beyond any absolution."

"Oh, you Titans speak of cost, as if you are the only ones to bear it! Do you think our years have passed me by without effect?" Slade retorted, his forever calm, even tone making his words even more dangerous. "You Titans cost me everything. My children, my reputation, my pride…"

"Now who's proving unworthy of their own acumen Slade? You think we enjoyed our feud with you? Quite frankly, if you'd just gone away after our first skirmish we would have been much happier. No. You stayed. You persisted. YOU, Slade." Savior replied. "YOUR choices cost you your children. Your underestimation of us and the losses it led to cost you your reputation. And as for your pride? Sheh. You could fight a hundred generations of Titans, and you wouldn't run out of pride."

Slade chuckled darkly.

"You were always skilled with your words, Collins. That, I will give you." Slade said, as he stopped moving. Savior did as well. "Leave. This is the sole time I will make this offer, in recognition to the little of you I respect. Rejoin your allies. Pay me no mind. Go save the world and get its accolades, instead of dying at the hands of your superior many times over."

"Oh believe me Slade, I wish I could accept. But I'm afraid you misjudged my apparent misjudgment. Even the best make mistakes. I know." Savior said. "I thought at first even you may be a pawn in the Society, just another piece of Alexander's master plan. He was, after all, a genius, perhaps he could even fool you. But then I thought…of another possibility." Savior said. "Maybe you knew something wasn't right. Maybe you went along with it anyway. But why would Slade Wilson let himself be manipulated? Maybe he isn't as bright as I thought. After all, you saw what happened with Rose."

Slade tensed, ever so slightly, hardly visible at all. Savior saw it, and gave himself a mental back pat: he'd slipped under Slade's skin, briefly. But that back pat was followed by a reminder it may be the only thing he succeeded in in this fight.

"But then another thought occurred to me…perhaps you're smarter then us all? Because who wins in battles such as this? Usually…the one who comes to pick up the pieces." Savior said. "Lex Luthor isn't who he is. Black Adam has become yet another pawn. They are thus rendered moot. When this whole thing explodes, I believe Talia and the Calculator, believing it to be more trouble then it's worth, will slink back into the shadows rather then be dragged down in the chaos. And Dr. Psycho…well, his name is apt. Any attempt he makes to seize the whole thing will end swiftly and badly for him. But you…you could just slip away. Wait. Gather up the wreckage and rebuild as you bide your time. And strike when the heroes try and rest. Who better to lead a Society then you, Slade? And you could. What you could do with it…could make Bludhaven look small. And such a possibility would mean great danger for my friends and I. No. I can't allow it."

Savior slowly clenched his fists.

"I came here alone because my allies need each other more then they need me. So I will fight this alone. Perhaps it is a bad choice. But sometimes, choices have to be made from the heart."

"Henh. I thought such nonsense was below you Collins. You sound like a self-help book." Slade said. "…You will die. I will give you no quarter. There is no chance you can win."

"You know, I knew this guy once. He said it best." Savior said, as he set himself into a combat stance. "I don't have to win. I just have to make sure YOU lose."

The shotgun was in Slade's hands, drawn from a back sheath, almost before Savior registered it.

"Easier said then done." Slade said, and fired.

Savior dodged to the side, the pellets tearing into the ice where he had been, and ran, as Slade re-aimed and fired once more, and again, and again, switching up his shots, leading and faking out, and showing a mastery that even Noel had to respect in his insane running dance.

But Savior had taught himself well in the time he had. Maybe nowhere near as well as Slade…but perhaps just well enough, as the shots missed and glanced him, the stray pellets bouncing off his jacket, as he jumped and dodged across the top of the ice tower.

And then Slade's finger closed on the trigger, and all that emerged was a dry clicking sound.

Savior stopped, several feet from Slade, looking at the master warrior, still in his firing stance, as he shot out a Shimmer strand and grabbed the shotgun.

"Not a single hit. Does that mean I've just gotten better or have you forgotten how to count your shots as effectively?"

"Neither." Slade replied.

The gun exploded, the final shot slamming into Savior at point-blank range and hurling him backwards, his Shimmer slipping off the shotgun as Savior hit the ice and slid across it, heading straight for the edge…

And slamming his hand down, throwing up a spray of icy chips as he stopped, groaning through his teeth as he curled into a near fetal position and retched. His chest SHOULD have resembled hamburger, which made the fact that the armor had taken most of the blast was quite impressive, but Noel didn't feel impressed, as he agonized for another moment, his chest on fire, unable to breath.

"I just have my weapon modified so that the second to last chamber can be empty." Slade said, as he calmly reloaded.

Savior pulled himself up partway, coughing violently, blood flecked in his saliva, as he glared murder at Slade.

"You made your choice Collins. Bludhaven was a heed to Nightwing on the imprudence of crossing me. Your fellow Titans are long overdue for such a thing as well. You will serve." Slade, as he finished reloading and snapped his gun back into a firing position. "But then again, isn't that what you wanted once? To be a martyr to their cause? Let it never be said I am incapable of mercy."

Savior was on his feet and charging even as the last words left Slade's mouth.

Slade's lone eye narrowed, and his shotgun blazed fire.

* * *

Sinestro. 

He had been one of the greatest of them, a fearless warrior, and a truly skilled Green Lantern. He had even trained Hal Jordan, whose legend would grow to be known across the universe. But in the end, it seemed he lacked a fundamental aspect of his character. Kyra's father had always told her to be careful of men on white horses, because they often confused what was right and needed with what they thought was right and needed (her father among them). Sinestro had done so, enslaving his own planet to ensure order among it. Like warriors before him, he had become a dictator, but unlike most dictators upon being stripped of his power (in this case his power ring) he did not vanish or die for his crimes. Instead, he continued his descent, finding a new ring, and embarking on a life where he lost all his remaining nobility, becoming a bloodthirsty fiend who murdered and destroyed without care.

His name was still spoken of with hushed caution in Kyra's days.

But to be a Green Lantern was to confront fear and overcome it. Otherwise, said fear would get you killed.

And even if it didn't, Sinestro would, as the two battled in mid air, Kyra's power ring against Sinestro's Qwardian copy, the two firing beams of green and yellow force that clashed with each other. But while Kyra had both arms up, her other hand gripping the wrist of her ring hand while sweat ran down her face, Sinestro was just using one arm, floating with it sticking out almost casually, slight concentration in his eyes but nowhere near Kyra's level: it was mixed in with disgust and dismay, as if the whole thing was a waste of his time.

At least Kyra had one thing going for her: her ring could work against yellow objects, a weakness the Corps had long possessed without explanation, an explanation eventually found in the truth of Hal Jordan's descent due to the influence of the fear entity Parallax. But the fact that her beam didn't instantly disintegrate against Sinestro's didn't change the fact that she was throwing everything she had behind it and Sinestro wasn't budging an inch…

But she was, as Sinestro shoved his hand forward a bit and her blast was finally overcome, slamming into her and sending her flying across the sky with a scream. More pain slammed through her body, but Kyra had been taught by her dad to handle pain, she could handle this…here he came, a being who had murdered entire star systems, how could she possibly…

No, she couldn't let fear overcome her! If she did, she'd have lost in all ways, and she'd have failed John Stewart. His ring had picked her out of anyone on Earth, she had to live up to that honor!

And so she did, as she formed another massive suit of mech armor and opened fire, sending off a devastating green energy beam even as she added dozens of green missiles.

Sinestro sneered.

"Child's toys." He said, as he formed a shield before him and flew right into the missiles, shrugging them off, as Kyra directed the beam at him, the two forces clashing again, before Sinestro pushed through her attack and rammed into Kyra's suit, shattering it and sending her into freefall.

Before Sinestro reached down and grabbed her, but that was far from a mercy as he immediately punched her across the face.

"This is who they let into the Corps these days?" Sinestro almost sniffed, and kneed Kyra in the gut, before elbowing her in the head. "I remember back when they actually had some standards. That ring is unworthy of you. Give it here, so I can actually clash with a foe worth killing." Sinestro said, as he grabbed Kyra's hand and tried to yank her ring off.

She resisted, that he expected, but there was no ring trick he couldn't counter instantly…

But that wasn't the tact Kyra used, as she reared up and sank her teeth into Sinestro's hand: the arrogant villain hadn't bothered to shield it.

"ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!" Sinestro yelled, as he snatched his hand away. Kyra wrenched herself from his grip and spat a few scraps of skin into his face.

"ANIMAL!" Sinestro roared, as he punched Kyra into the ground, her impact leaving a small crater, as he formed a giant blade and plunged down towards Kyra.

Kyra leapt out of the way, and as Sinestro's blade slammed into the ground she thrust her arm out, the ring shooting out energy and forming a giant…soup can…and a giant…can opener, which opened up the can, and as Sinestro looked up, dumped the 'soup' out onto him.

Except this 'soup' had the temperature of molten lava. Sinestro yelled and then yellow energy exploded around him, blasting the liquid construct away.

"Says you." Kyra said, as her green power regathered and reformed into…a giant mass of rabbits.

"What in the name of…!" Sinestro said, and then the rabbits swarmed him, biting him, and they had FANGS, they were VAMPIRE rabbits, they were all over him…

"ARGH!" Sinestro bellowed again, as his yellow power once more dispelled Kyra's constructs. He was hardly hurt, but he didn't think he'd have been hurt at all, as he lanced out and slamming a massive yellow hand towards Kyra, the fist shattering Kyra's shield and sending her flying backwards, before the hand seized her and slammed her into the ground, then hurled her through a cliff of ice.

"It's only begun child." Sinestro promised, as he pursued with a vengeance Fatality wished she could have mustered.

* * *

Dr. Light. 

At least Deathstroke the Terminator and Sinestro had some respectable aspects mixed in with their villainy. Light had nothing. He had been a small man who had lucked into great power and used it for his selfish needs and violent base desires ever since. He was a thug, a murderer, a rapist, and a child killer, who tried to fight the Teen Titans because he thought they'd be easier targets. His lifetime of hedonism had rewarded him with countless defeats, mostly due to his sickness driving heroes into a rage so great they had willingly lobotomized him, partially sealing his abilities and danger level.

But the memory wipe had been undone. And Light had been reborn, full of righteous rage on top of his violent predilections. The worst kind of villain. One who would need to be put down hard, lest he let his sick dreams combine with his great power and wreck unbelievable havoc.

Mary only knew a fraction of this, but it was enough: the bastard tried to shoot her when she wasn't looking. She'd teach him how to wreck havoc.

Once the darkness had scared Light. That fear was gone. He could cast away any darkness. He'd start with her. She'd be a good way to decide how to hurt the witch when he finally got back to her.

And so he just watched as she ran at his platform, slashing through any OMAC's that got in her way, as she leapt onto a piece of ice, slashed down another OMAC, leapt and bounced off another OMAC, flipped, and hit the side of the ice tower (not as tall as the one Slade was on, but still pretty damn tall), as she ran straight up the side, weapons out.

OMAC's followed her up, even as more came from above her. She slashed them even as she kept running straight up the wall, heading for Light.

He gave a vicious chuckle.

"I always did believe in giving a lady what she clearly needed." Light said.

And he leapt, doing a backwards flip as blades of deadly golden light appeared on his hand, and he fell, plummeting down towards Mary.

The OMAC's retreated, as per their orders, leaving Mary and Light a clear path as she kept running up the side of the tower and he fell to meet her.

It looked like they were going to miss, and then Mary took a few last steps and leapt up, as Light flew down.

Glaive and laser light blades slammed together.

The eruption of power was so strong it shattered the ice tower, cracking it in half, and as it tumbled over, even as it broke apart, Light landed on the ground, having used his powers to lessen his body weight. Light, after all, weighed next to nothing, and Arthur Light was the master of light.

As he showed, as he next used its speed, as his form blurred away from where he was standing, as Mary crashed down where Light had been, her glaive and daggertails throwing up massive swords of ice from the impact, as she growled and pulled her weapons free, as Light turned around, grinning, as the OMAC's swarmed around them.

"Be gone robots." Light said. "This girl is mine."

The radiant eruption that came from Light's hand nearly blinded Mary and sent pain shooting through her body, even as it scrambled all the OMAC's around Light, as they fell by the hundreds, their systems overloaded and shut down by Light's carefully controlled light blast.

He lowered said hand, rolling his fingers, as Mary leaned over, hissing at him as smoke wafted from her body.

"Come on bitch. Surely you're not done already." Light taunted.

Mary screamed and charged, slashing at Dr. Light with her daggertails.

Light blurred away, zapping about fifteen feet from where he had been (he could only utilize the speed of light for very short distances, but that was enough). Mary immediately changed direction and sprinted after him, but Light just warped away from her again. This time, Mary leapt, spun in the air, and fired twin blasts of darkness at Light. A dome of white power appeared over Light, blocking the shot, and then refocused and fired outward from his hands, enveloping Mary with another scream. She collapsed, her body clearly writhing in several areas, like her skin and clothes had a life of their own.

"Look at you. Cowering. Seeing that darkness is nothing before the Light."

Mary looked up, her teeth flashing fangs.

"YOU'RE NOTHING!" Mary shrieked, and a blast of dark power obliterated where Light had just been standing…except he'd zapped away again. He held out a hand and fired a spray of lightning-quick shots, which slammed into Mary and caused her to collapse again.

"And you're blind. You can't see the Light."

Mary sank into the ground, vanishing.

Dr. Light's eyes gazed around.

A massive surge of dark power erupted from behind him, washing over him, completely consuming his form, as it pressed down, trying to obliterate him.

And then beams of light began pouring out from beneath the blackness, and then it exploded away, Light revealed once more, his hands above him as he laughed, as a mass of shadow flew to the ground and transformed back into Mary, as she gasped.

"You are providing me no amusement. I guess I'll have to make it myself." Dr. Light said, and suddenly he zapped up into the air, doing another 'light-jump' in a vertical direction rather then a horizontal one, as he laughed and fired another spray of shots. Mary leapt away to dodge them, but Light just zapped to the side, still in mid-air, and fired another flurry, those ones exploding against Mary's back with a cry. Light 'light-jumped' to the side again, firing another spray as Mary frantically leapt out of the way, as she formed a spear of darkness and hurled it at Light, but he just light-jumped to the side again and fired another barrage, forcing Mary to retreat, and then once more as Mary ran for her life, before gravity finally reclaimed Light and he came back down to the ground, still laughing, as Mary leapt into the air.

A sphere of darkness appeared around her, and the light shots pierced through it…and flew on, as Mary, having sacrificed some pain to avoid the brunt of the shots, reformed…right above Light.

"You want to dance so bad?" Mary said, and thrust her hands down. Light reflexively threw his hands up to form a shield…which blocked his viewpoint and kept him from seeing that Mary's hands had plunged into a shadowy warp.

As warps opened up around Light, and he was bombarded by a spray of shots firing from each one in turn, the attacks slamming into him before he could re-focus his defense, finally drawing a scream of pain from him, as Mary grinned wildly from where she floated above him…

Too long.

"PERISH WENCH!" Light roared, and threw up one hand as massive columns of destructive light erupted around him, catching Mary and blowing her away with a howl of agony.

Light dispersed his upwards blast and headed after Mary. He'd been having fun until she hurt him. Now he'd hurt her. Much worse.

* * *

Killer Frost. 

Well, she really wasn't important enough to be very well known…except she had frozen Metatron solid.

Yin could only stare in horror. Killer Frost had turned Metatron into an ice statue. He'd be dead in ten seconds, maybe less. But what…

"Adam!" Came a yell, and then Ragnarok dropped down from a rock he had been floating on. "Glomp! HANG ON!" Ragnarok said, as he put his hands on the Metatron statue and activated the Fire Catalyst.

"Hey! I didn't manage just the right pose for-ARGH!" Killer Frost yelled as Yin surged up and slammed into her: if he couldn't help Metatron he'd keep his attacker away from him, as he punched at the ice controller (glaciokinetic?).

Ragnarok had vaporized the ice in under two seconds, but the four or five that Metatron had been frozen had been more then enough, as he collapsed onto Ragnarok's arms, his skin a pale blue and his body shaking so violently it felt like it was going to break apart, as Ragnarok lowered him down to the ground.

"Hang on Adam, I'll warm…"

Metatron grabbed Ragnarok by the front of his shirt.

"Too s-s-slow! S-set me on fire!"

"What?"

"SET ME ON FIRE OR I'LL DIE!"

"…All right." Ragnarok said, as he subtly adjusted his Catalyst command. "…But."

"I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

So Ragnarok did just that.

"ARRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Metatron screamed as he burned…even as his body sucked the flames into it, the agony saving his cells from breakdown.

His scream was mirrored by Yin, as Killer Frost blasted him away and into the ground, freezing him there. He struggled to get free, the cold sinking into his rubbery body, as Killer Frost turned back to her previous targets.

Ragnarok heard her coming, as he turned away from the smoking, still twitching Metatron.

"Hey! Damn it, you wrecked my work! You're an absolute zero!" Killer Frost yelled, as she slashed out her hand and sent a deadly spray of razor sharp icicles at the two.

Ragnarok's eyes narrowed.

"Ah, snappy banter. I outgrew that nonsense years ago." Ragnarok said, as dark power zapped from the Dark Catalyst to his right hand and he waved his arm. A surge of darkness sprang out from Ragnarok, and the icicles abruptly reversed direction and flew back at Killer Frost, who yelped and dodged to the side, having to form another abrupt ice platform to avoid a deadly fall. She got up from it, eyes blazing with anger, as Ragnarok lowered that arm and raised the other, as the Fire Catalyst began to glow on it.

Killer Frost didn't know exactly what it was, but she had enough brains to guess thar a red glow meant it was heat…as she grinned. The idiot. They always assumed that since she used ice she was vulnerable to heat: her powers came from her SUCKING IN HEAT, leaving only cold: all he'd do is give her a charge…

Until a jolt of dark power flew from the orb in the center of his chest and into the glowing red orb.

Killer Frost's eyes widened. What…

"The melting point of ice is 32 degrees Fahrenheit." Ragnarok said. "THIS IS ROUGHLY 900 TIMES THAT!"

And Ragnarok fired out an intense blast of fire tinged with black, a blast that enveloped Killer Frost, heat she found she couldn't absorb, as she screamed in utter agony.

Her blackened body hit the ground with a dull thud, not dead but not happy either.

"Also, I do my research. Louise." Ragnarok said, and turned back to Metatron.

And found, much to his surprise, that the demon was getting back up.

"Adam? Wait a moment, let me at least…"

"Collin…move. Or I'll MOVE YOU." Metatron hissed: now that he was no longer frozen or dying, the second time he'd nearly died in the last half hour, he was PISSED: quite literally as mad as hell.

"But Adam…!"

"RAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Metatron snarled, as he charged: Ragnarok quickly got out of the way as Metatron ran on, heading straight for Gemini. Ragnarok blinked, and then spied Yin, still stuck to the ground. Right, he'd get him free next…

Hex crashed into the rock and collapsed to her knees, her vision blurring. This looked like the end. Figured: she couldn't even die in her rotten to the core world, she had to bite it in some world where she didn't exist and probably wouldn't even be remembered…

"Now…" Gemini hissed as she transformed her head into the fanged hood of a cobra…

For the second before the golden blast hit her. She recoiled and screamed, twisting towards the blast as her head and face flowed back into her normal look.

"Oh, you do remember!" Metatron said, as he sprinted towards the shapeshifter.

"You! Here's something I owe you!" Gemini yelled, as she grew and elongated her hands, turning them into deadly metal claws as she thrust them down at Metatron to tear him to shreds.

Metatron didn't dodge: instead he ran right towards their impact point…and leapt at the last second, avoiding the claws as he landed on Gemini's arms and ran up them, heading for her torso and head, as her eyes narrowed.

"Just DIE!" Gemini yelled, as her jaw elongated and her tongue surged out, forming into a needle point as it lanced at Metatron.

He grabbed it, seizing the rubber-like weapon as he finished running up the arms and found himself face to enlarged face with Gemini, the shocked morpher's eyes going wide, as he, still holding her tongue with one hand, brought up his other one.

"You can stretch, right?" Metatron said. "Good. Then I can do this."

And he literally rammed his hand into her mouth and down her throat.

Gemini's eyes bulged…

And then Metatron activated his heat surge.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gemini wailed, her body and features blurring into a chaotic mix of form as she agonized over what Metatron had done, burning her from the inside, as she thrashed like she was having an epileptic fit, a fit that hurled Metatron through the air away from her. He landed fairly well, but still lost his balance and did a few minor tumbles before coming to a stop.

"Ok, didn't quite think that through all the way." Metatron commented.

Still wailing, Gemini shrank back down to her normal size, smoke pouring from her mouth as she gagged and choked, her groans mixed with curses, her eyes watering as she tried to recover…

She saw a flash of pink, and she turned…

Hex leapt, spinning, one foot slamming into Gemini's chest and the other slamming into her face, sending the shapeshifter staggering back, even as Hex flipped away, but the fresh blows seemed to have helped snap Gemini back into battle mode…

As an elongated arm ending in a fist flew at her.

Gemini caught it.

"You third-rate stretcher! You actually though a simple punch could hurt me!" She yelled at Yin, who was free and had thrown the punch.

"That would be your luck." Hex said, and fired a blast. None of her hex shots had had any effect before, but none of them had the right scenario.

As it struck Gemini, even as Yin tried to get his arm free…which he did, the arm slipping from Gemini's grasp…

As Yin grabbed his outstretched arm with his other hand and yanked on it as hard as he could, twanging it like a guitar string, as the waving motion traveled down his limb and ended at his fist…

And turned his sole stopped punch into a flurry of them that slammed into Gemini's face and chest. She staggered back again…

And then Yin fired out his other arm.

The punch slammed Gemini off her feet and into a 270 degree spin, where she landed with a crash and didn't move again.

"They haven't failed me yet." Yin replied, as he withdrew his arms. "And a thank you to Luffy. That's a great trick."

"You're just lucky I warmed you up enough to do it." Ragnarok said, as Hex limped over to him. "Here Llarenes, I got that."

Metatron landed nearby, startling the three.

"We seem to be free of OMAC attacks for the moment." Metatron said. "Since none of us is really a leader, I say we go looking for trouble."

"Hang on Adam." Ragnarok said, as he finished healing Hex's minor but extensive injuries. "We can't just leave the rock. Not just because you and Yin are vulnerable out there. We also have to look after the people who were in the OMAC's. BUT…I have a compromise." Ragnarok said. "Looks like our allies have done their fair share of damage. Go out there and grab as many as you can. I'm going to stay here and make sure that any OMAC's who come back can't just pick up their fallen brethren."

"How?" Hex asked.

"I have a plan. Just go! And remember, don't trouble trouble unless trouble troubles you."

"The only trouble I expect is trying to figure out that sentence." Metatron said, as he ran off, leaping off the rock and heading for the nearest people. Yin and Hex did likewise.

Ragnarok took a deep breath. He hadn't mentioned the strange tingling he was feeling in his chest and arms, but then again, he'd never used so many Catalysts for so long a period before. Probably just some minor side effects, and not worth mentioning to his fellows. He had to erect a defense, as he raised one arm, the Golden Catalyst shining…

As dark power surged forth from the center Catalyst and outward from Ragnarok, as he formed a dark dome over the whole rock. There. Any OMAC's that shot at the dome would just feed their power into the Dark Catalyst, and any that tried to go through the energy would find themselves short circuiting, while his allies could pass through it without effect. True, he probably couldn't hold it all day…but he could hold it long enough.

He could probably add to the rock as well, and got the Earth and Fire Catalysts working on that.

He ignored the weird tingling. It was probably nothing.

He had a job to do.

* * *

The unnatural. 

Most people passed their whole lives without even getting a glimpse of it, without ever being aware of it. Raven remembered hearing the whispers of what had almost happened just after the first Crisis, where a maniacal South America cult called the Brujeria had attempted to call a 'primordial shadow' to destroy Heaven itself, an act that would have had catastrophic consequences in the mystical realms to say Earth itself. The battle to stop this evil power had claimed the lives of Sargon the Sorcerer and Giovanni Zatara, Zatanna's father, and had only been stopped by the intervention of, of all beings, the Swamp Thing.

And only those in the realms of magic and those they spoke to knew how close it had been. The rest of the world went on, blissfully unaware of how close they had come to their doom, so soon after escaping the mad dreams of the Anti-Monitor.

It had always been that way. Some saw, and most did not.

Raven had almost always seen, from the moment of her birth. She had natural gifts in such things, not to mention years of study and training. She could easily tell a phony medium from a true channeler of the dead, and while slight of hand could impress her she would always know it was something up the sleeve rather then true magic. In the realm of the unnatural, her viewpoint carried considerable weight.

So when she sensed herself in the presence of something that should not be, well, chances are she knew what she was talking about, as she stared at the portal of black…very much like the one Kyra had come from…

But…just because something should not be…does not mean it is always bad…

As she emerged, in robes of white.

For a moment Raven experienced a truly rare moment: she couldn't believe her eyes. She'd looked upon the horrendous bastard spawn of hell, seen the greatest atrocities of human and inhuman beings alike, watched reality shift and melt beneath her eyes like it was cheap clay rather then the fabric of existence she walked and lived on, and though these experiences had brought up within her many emotions (suppressed at first and felt later), very rarely did she look on something with the expression that she simply could not be seeing what she was seeing, that it had to be wrong.

Her mouth opened slightly, the closest thing to a dropped jaw that she had, as her eyes went as wide as they could. It couldn't be…

"…Mother?" Raven whispered.

"Raven." Arella said.

And Raven didn't think she could tumble any further down this rabbit hole. It was her mother. Her deceased mother, in her room…and her face wasn't a mask of solemnity, an expression eternally carved into stone as Raven remembered. She knew why it had been that way. Because of her curse, her birthright. In those days, any emotion was bad. Any emotion shown in her presence could trigger her demon bloodline. And so everyone had had no choice but to show nothing to Raven. Not even her mother. Not because of any lack of care…but because what that care could bring.

There was still aspects of that, on Arella's face…but for the most part, now there was peace. And…joy.

She'd never seen her mother happy.

"…This…this can't be happening…" Raven said. "I must be dreaming…"

"You are not, my child. Nor are you being deceived or manipulated. What you see…is the truth." Arella said. "The manipulations that have so tormented reality…they have undo what your father did. Azarath…I…live once more."

Raven blinked. She was more dependant as a lie detector then any machine any law enforcement agency could ever invent.

And she wasn't getting the slightest blip.

"…Oh Raven…my child…" Arella said, as she reached out. "I could have never dreamed to see you like this."

That was what did it. It wasn't black magic, or a dream, or an enemy trying to get at her in this time. It wasn't Psimon jabbing at her brain again or the glamour of an evil entity to get her to drop her guard. It was really…truly, her mother.

Raven never cried, even after the demise of her father. It just wasn't her thing.

But things weren't going as they usually did.

"…Oh…moth…" Raven sobbed, as she did what she could have never done before and fell into her arms, clutching her tight, low sobs coming from her throat, as Arella drew her daughter to her and held her, standing there.

Raven wished it could have lasted forever.

But she knew she'd probably already used up all her wishes, as she finally drew away.

"How…why…"

"It does not matter. It was done." Arella said, as she wiped away Raven's tears. "Oh, Raven. I always feared for your future…but I always held hope too. Even in the end. My hope was justified. You make me so proud, child. I always knew you would."

Raven didn't say anything. For a moment, she didn't have any words.

But when she found them…they were bitter. As happy as she was, Raven was still a realist. And even if what she was seeing was true…

"You came back because of what the…villains did? Even now?"

"Yes." Arella said.

And then a lone tear came from her eye, running down her face.

"…You can't stay, can you?" Raven said. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"Many things are not supposed to happen. I never would have believed your mortal other could strike down Trigon in the way he did…but he did." Arella said, as she gave Raven an amused, mothering look. "He is not perfect. His surface is far rougher then he believes, and his heart and nobility are shot through with black…but he loves you Raven. As do your friends. They, and what you can build with them, and those you have yet to meet, are your future. I…and Azarath am the past. There is no changing that."

Arella was silent for a bit, and in that silence Raven could see why the solemn aspects had remained on her face, despite this gift of resurrection that had been visited upon her.

"We have been reborn in the chaos…but it is but a temporary thing. No matter how this ends…we will swiftly return to where we were. We cannot change this or stop it. This we knew, almost as soon as we returned. And in our knowledge, our realization…we decided that this inevitability could be better served. It is our choice. Our gift." Arella said.

She was glowing, Raven realized, a soft white light suffusing her body, spreading to Raven's own.

"Azarath has peacefully returned to their rest…and in doing so have given up the power that once again rested in their bodies before it could vanish as well. Their power is in me…even as I do likewise. When I am gone, the power will be yours Raven. To use as you see fit, in this time of great Crisis. What it did for us is far outweighed by who it has harmed, by who it still threatened. You have chosen a great life. This is our last gift to you, for your future. We know you will use it well."

"…Thank you." Raven whispered, as twin streams of sparkling liquid ran from her eyes. Arella smiled softly and gently touched her daughter's cheek.

"Remember. Our choices brought me great torment…but I knew, in the end, it would be for the best. That it would serve you to make what we were forced to deny. I was right. But remember…Raven, daughter, I always loved you. Always."

"I know…"

"I always will…my child." Arella said, as she lightly kissed Raven on the forehead.

And then she was gone, having been fading away even as she spoke her last words, leaving Raven along once more.

She kept her eyes closed, as her hands and arms, once again holding nothing, crossed over her chest. Her body released one final quiet sob.

"…Goodbye." Raven said.

As her outfit shifted, going from purple to white, as light swirled all around her.

As her eyes opened, the same brilliance reflected within.

Power.

Incredible power.

If but for a short time…and that time was now.

There were many artifacts that could have served her well.

Raven only had eyes for one, as she grabbed it and strode from her room, flipping her cloak up as she walked.

* * *

Even as the light joined with Raven, another brilliant light streaked towards the gigantic golden hands as they began to position Earth-2 and Earth-3, as Kyle Rayner, Ion, yelled and unleashed a cataclysmic torrent of power, so much force it could have reduced the average moon to fine powder. 

It struck Alexander's hand, but it seemed to have no affect.

Alexander felt it, back at his Tower, but only in the sense of registering it. They continued to fight him over on the other side of his reality manipulation. Annoying insects buzzing in protest. Alexander's eyes narrowed.

And in space a massive wave of power erupted from his hands, as Ion flew back, retreating from it. Electromagnetic force waves, like the ones that had killed Jade, killed Jenny…

He was back where he had started.

Like Donna Troy…helpless.

* * *

Ion may have been feeling helpless at the moment (it wouldn't last), but Savior was feeling anything but, even as he ran at Slade, in a straight line. Suicide when you were facing an expert marksmen with a loaded shotgun: Savior's body armor couldn't keep taking direct hits, if Slade even aimed there and not somewhere else like say, Noel's head. He looked all the world like an angry child running in to try and pummel the bully who had taken his lunch money. 

Savior wasn't expecting Slade to fall for it, but he was also hoping Slade wouldn't pass up such a supposedly easy shot.

And he didn't, as his shotgun blasted towards Savior.

But even as Slade's finger was tightening on the trigger, Savior was calling on the Shimmer, his amazingly versatile talent: being powerful was great but Savior often put it second to being multipurpose. It was springing out from the bottom of his boot, concentrating on one side of his foot: normally Savior would use the Shimmer like a spring and leap forward with extra punch, but in this case that was only half of it: leaping forward would just make him jump into the shot and Slade's reflexes and reading ability was far too good to try normal dodging at this range with Savior's speed and the type of ground he was on.

He needed something so abrupt Slade wouldn't be able to compensate for it.

And he did, even as the reaction began within the shotgun, Savior came down on the foot the Shimmer had emerged from at a dead heat.

The focused placement of the Shimmer was much like stepping on the edge of the world's most elastic ball, as it shoved back hard at a precise angle.

If Noel had placed the manipulation of his talent evenly over both feet, he would have sprang straight up, like he'd put Flubber on his shoes.

The way he had arranged it caused him instead to suddenly spring to the side at an angle that was almost all falling.

The blast from the gun fired past where he had been, a few of the pellets digging into Savior's jacket. He'd avoided the blast, but at a cost: like it was said, his dodge was more like an abrupt fall, where he'd hit the ground and be wide open to Slade's follow up shot.

If not for the Shimmer, again.

Lines shot from Savior's side, hitting the ground and stopping Savior in mid-fall before shoving him back up, as Savior kept going: the whole maneuver had taken less then a second and allowed him to keep up his sprint at Slade, whose eye had widened slightly as Savior closed in, as Slade tried to get the shotgun adjusted to fire again…

Savior knocked it aside with a hand thrust and followed up with a punch to Slade's face. Slade's reflexes weren't slowed in the slightest however, as he snapped his head aside, even as he grabbed his deflected shotgun by the barrel with his free hand and swung back, swinging the butt at Savior's head. Savior's own head snapped back, the tough metal and wood stock missing by only a centimeter of two, as he untangled his hands from his previous combat attempt and drove a punch into Slade's side.

Slade didn't blink, as he brought the shotgun back in one smooth, ultra-quick motion and rapped Savior on the side of the head, and as he stumbled back he had the gun back in the correct position even as he began squeezing the trigger…

Savior went with the blow, twisting and landing on his hands, using the Shimmer to balance and throw his body as he swept his leg out, kicking the shotgun aside as it roared again, its blast slamming into the ground near Savior as he whirled up again to be face to face with Slade, his guard broken, as Savior swung in to punch again.

Slade blocked with his left arm, expertly deflecting Savior's jab, as he tried to both step/slip away and get his gun back up to blast Savior at point-blank range, but Savior was back on him, yanking the gun up before Slade could fire and trying to wrest it away from him…

Slade headbutted him full force, his metal mask protecting his face but Savior having no such protection as his head snapped back, blood exploding from his nose…

As his body went with it, his hands snapping off the shotgun…and leaving white lines attached to it, as Savior fell back, the Shimmer holding him to the weapon like a winch and briefly immobilizing Slade as he couldn't move it back into firing position…

As Savior put his full weight on Shimmer strands that had shot from his back and lashed out with his legs, driving his right one full into Slade's gut, knocking the master assassin back just a bit…as he snapped his left leg up and kicked the shotgun, throwing it into the air even as the Shimmer lines connected to it snapped off and flew to the ground, digging in even as Savior did a flip from the upward leg kick, going 360 as he landed on the ground, briefly…

And then he pushed off with the Shimmer, flying up and slamming both his feet into Slade's chest, this time truly staggering him, as Savior bounced off and flipped once more, landing on his knees as his eyes filled with an intense gaze…

And he thrust out one hand, a strand of the Shimmer firing from it and going straight for Slade's head. There was less then five feet between he and his enemy, and Slade's gun was still in the air, he was defenseless…

And Savior then remembered the hard way Slade Wilson was never defenseless.

The sword had been on his back: then it was in front of him, held fast, draw and positioned too quickly for Savior to see. Positioned perfectly.

The Shimmer strand slammed into it, slicing itself in half for nearly two feet before it could stop, as the agony slammed into Savior, making his whole body go limp and numb as he fell on his hands, retching. This had been why he'd been trying to go it alone, using the Shimmer as little as he could in terms of offense, because Slade knew his weakness, knew how to exploit it, even more then Savior had realized…

He heard the cocking noise as he looked up, Slade in front of him, his shotgun having fallen back into his hands, his sword now in a makeshift sheath by his side, Savior staring down the barrel of his old weapon.

"Not bad." Slade said. "Not enough."

The gun fired.

Savior would have never said he could make a dodge like he did. But sometimes you didn't know what were you were capable of until you were literally staring down the barrel of a gun.

But Savior only managed to save his head from being splattered all over the top of the ice tower, as he jerked to the side…and screamed as the spray of pellets emerged, ripping through his shoulder armor and the skin and muscle underneath even as they ripped through the delicate tissues of his left ear, nearly blowing the whole thing off, as Savior's dodge turned into a staggering fall from the pain, his right hand slamming into the ground hard...

And rearing up as the Shimmer lanced out, pierced through the ice, carved out a head sized chunk, seized it, and even as Savior recoiled away to protect himself from a follow up shot he hurled the chunk at Slade.

Slade slashed the gun out, slamming the barrel into the chunk of ice almost as soon as it had been let go, shattering it, but it bought Savior the time he needed as he leapt a few dozen feet away, his knees nearly giving out as he landed from the pain on his upper left side, clutching the wound, feeling blood and what he swore were bits of cartilage running down his neck. The only reason he wasn't deaf in that ear was because the Shimmer had formed a last-microsecond plug: not because Savior had ordered it to but because it had instinctively been trying to protect the brain, where it 'lived' (along with the spinal column). It withdrew now, trying to clean up the mess as Savior growled through his teeth, pain burning through his arm, torso, and head.

"That's one body part Collins." Slade said, as he lowered the gun a bit. "I wonder how many I'll have to destroy before you finally give up the ghost. Personally, I think the number will be countable on one hand."

Savior spat on the ground, as the Shimmer finished tying off veins to stop the blood flow. He twisted his left shoulder: pain shot through him but the arm felt useable. Fine.

"'Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.'" Savior snapped.

"William Churchill. Quoting again Collins? How like you." Slade said. "That was always a rather dolorous and enervated aspect of you Collins. You parrot the words of wise and great men, in the thought it somehow makes you wise and great. But it doesn't Collins. Taking words from dead men's throats makes you nothing but unoriginal."

Savior's eyes narrowed.

"You want originality?" He hissed.

"It doesn't matter." Slade, and snapped his gun up and fired again.

This time Savior leapt straight up, a shield already forming in front of him, as Slade snapped the gun up and fired again, the shot tearing into the energy barrier but not breaking it, as Savior went with the kinetic impact and flipped backwards, heading back towards the tower stop.

He glanced down as he did, and blades of Shimmer energy sprang from his feet, forming into twin carefully formed edges as he landed…and slid to the side.

He'd formed skates.

And he used them, as he slashed back towards Slade. The ice of the tower top was nowhere near as smooth as it would be in a rink, but Savior's footwear was infinitely more adaptable then a normal pair of ice skates, as they took every bump and obstacle and kept Savior upright and balanced as he headed for Slade, who had watched for a second. Skates.

How droll.

His gun blazed again, exploding the ground near Savior as he zipped to the side, going around Slade, but that didn't matter, the first shot had just been a calculating one, as Slade figured out the proper leading angles in milliseconds, as he aimed and fired.

Savior's dodging move looked like he combined a torpedo lunge with a triple axel, but it worked, as the deadly blast only glanced the teenager as he landed on his hands, flipped back to his feet, and continued skating around Slade in a tight circle, as Shimmer strands began to flow out from his right arm and form something, as Slade, out of ammo, rapidly but still irritatingly began replacing shells, only taking the time to reload about three before he stopped and aimed again.

As Savior thrust out his arm.

The Shimmer fan he had formed started up, going from zero to about 200 miles an hour in a second, and an intense wind slammed into Slade, causing him to stagger, snow blowing up and stinging his eye, as Savior dispersed the fan and leapt, thrusting a bladed foot at Slade.

It met sword, as Slade switched weapons faster then the eyes could follow, his knees bending ever slightly to take the impact, as the two stood there, Savior frozen in the air.

And then he flipped off the blade, landing as he dispersed the Shimmer skates.

Slade's sword stabbed at his head: Savior dodged to the side, ducked under the following decapitating slash, and went low and swung for Slade's legs: Slade flipped backwards and came back to his feet as Savior charged in. He blocked Savior's kick with one of his own and slashed, Savior again ducking as the blade swung over Savior's head…as Slade twisted his body and lashed out in turn with his leg, slamming it across Savior's cheek, and even as the teenager staggered Slade was balanced again and bringing his sword down.

It slammed into a Shimmer arm shield, as Savior snarled in pain and thrust back, shoving Slade away as Savior tried to kick Slade in the chin. Slade blocked with his free arm, took two quick steps back, and swung his sword around him in a complicated pattern, keeping Savior from attacking him with the Shimmer, forcing him to come in close again. Slade lunged and slashed downward, as Savior darted aside and tried a haymaker…only to find Slade grabbing his arm and flipping him to the ground. Savior slammed into the ice back first, and Slade spun around and brought his sword up and down towards Savior's head.

Savior slammed his hands on it half an inch from his face, barely stopping the weapon, as he snapped a foot up and kicked Slade in the face, shoving his sword away as he spun up, growling as his hands started to bleed.

Slade came in again, slashing and stabbing, Savior barely keeping away from his master's hand, unable to even attack, forced onto a faltering defensive…

Or so Savior wanted Slade to think.

The blade slashed out again.

Savior caught it.

The act, involving wrapping his hand in more Shimmer energy, still sent pain exploding through him, but this time he was ready for it, like he had been with the arm shield, and when it was ready he could take it better, as strands of the energy extended out and seized the sword, yanking it violently, throwing Slade off balance if just for a half second…

As Savior shot another strand out, burying it into Slade's throat.

It should have crushed his windpipe. It should have rendered him a wheezing wreck heading for death.

If only Slade hadn't armored his outfit there too, the blow blunted, Savior now caught off guard…

Slade's fist slammed into his face, as the assassin tore his blade free and sliced out, tearing through Savior's arm armor and slicing a deep wound above the elbow, and even as Savior yelled Slade spun around and slammed his foot into Savior's stomach, rapidly snapping it free and back again, this time into Savior's face, throwing him up into the air…

As Slade leapt, spun, and slammed a foot into the teen, sending him flying across the ice several feet. He landed hard.

Slade spun his sword back into his back sheath and took the few steps necessary to reach his shotgun, kicking it back up into his hands as Savior got up…

And stopped, eyes wide, as Slade got the shotgun aimed directly at Savior's head.

"Like I said." Slade intoned. "Less then one hand."

And fired.

…Sometimes even the masters never managed to eliminate slight flaws in their styles of combat. And there was one universal among them: even they forgot when not to talk.

Had Slade just fired, he would have won.

But he stopped for two seconds to say something.

And even as battered as he was, two was all Savior needed.

As he lifted his right foot and then lunged out and back with his leg one, falling into a perfect noon-and-six split.

The shotgun roared, and the tips of Savior's hair was blown as off as Savior did the lunging split to avoid the blast, his right ankle slamming into the ground.

And he struck.

The Shimmer strand erupted from the ground beneath Slade's feet, an old trick saved for the right time, slamming up into Slade's face with the impact of a baseball bat, staggering the assassin even as the strand whipped around and seized Slade's shotgun, pulling as hard as possible to tear it from Slade's hands.

Slade took a step back to go with the blow and regroup…

As Savior slammed the shotgun, lengthwise, across Slade's chest as hard as he could, so hard he bent the shotgun, finally knocking Slade off his feet, as Savior pulled the strand with the shotgun back even as he contracted it, crushing the weapon in the middle, ruining it, Savior tossing it away even as Slade landed, near the edge of the ice tower…

He must have pulled it out in mid-fall. Even floored, Slade Wilson was a warrior's warrior.

As he hit the ground, he yanked the pin on the grenade he had drawn from his belt and hurled it.

It bounced and rolled across the ground, taking a second and a half to stop…right in front of Savior.

Savior's eyes went as wide as saucers.

Slade's lone one stared, a mixture of intensity, rage, and hate.

In moments like this, time seemed to slow to a crawl.

And then Savior's legs whirled up as he lifted himself up and flipped.

But not away. It was almost straight up, as if he was getting to his feet.

Savior had gone through his options in the two seconds he had had. He doubted he had enough time to disarm or throw away the grenade, and if he tried to block it the close range and shrapnel combined with his weakened state over the battle could punch through his guard and kill him…

If he did it THAT way.

So he had tried another.

He almost landed on the grenade, stopping at the last foot, as Shimmer strands sprang out and stopped him, spraying out in rapid patterns as a small dome formed over the explosive, Savior putting layer after layer into it as he crossed his fingers and hoped.

Slade's eye widened. What the hell…!

And then the grenade exploded.

Savior was blown into the air, shooting up into it like a rocket with a yell of pain…but it had worked. He'd put enough blockage over the weapon to reroute the shockwave of the detonation: instead of going everything, it almost all went in one direction: straight down into the ice.

Which wasn't happy.

The whole tower shuddered, as cracks began rapidly shooting out across the surface of the top, as Slade got to his feet: the damn teenager had destabilized the structure, he'd turned the top into a hazard zone, Slade had to…

The flaw had probably been developing for who knew how many decades, but with Savior's intense punch into all the stress points of the ice tower, it finished its journey within an instant, as a crack shot out towards Slade and hitting said flaw, which groaned and then broke, as the piece of ice Slade was standing on broke off and began falling off the tower, and it was a long way down.

But Slade wasn't Wile. E. Coyote, content to stand there as his footing collapsed under him: he was already moving, as he ran to the very edge of the chunk even as it fell and leapt, but the slippery ice and shifting nature of it screwed up his push-off, and even as the chunk continue to fall behind him Slade found he hadn't put enough behind him to make it all the way back to the main piece….

One foot made it: the other touched empty air, and even as Slade warred with his balance the ice gave way under Slade's foot, and he fell…but as he did he lunged forward, his torso slamming against the top of the ice even as his legs fell into the empty air and then slammed into the edge of the tower, the limbs' weight beginning to drag Slade with them.

Slade's eyes went as cold and as severe as perhaps it had ever been, as he lifted his hand and slammed his fingers, hardened by decades of training and use, into the ground, piercing into the ice, straining the muscles but that didn't matter, he would NOT fall, as he yanked, digging his other hand in, pulling with all his might, as he pulled himself back up and, wonder of wonders, pulled himself back up onto his hands and flipped away from the edge as a few more minor pieces crumbled off, as Slade landed and took several more steps back towards the center.

There were still cracks shooting through the 'floor': it didn't seem much more stable then the edge, all because that damn Titan…

…THE TITAN!

Slade's head snapped up.

Savior landed on him, somehow punching but mostly just pouncing on Slade like a cat would a mouse, slamming Slade into the ground with a furious impact…

And that did it: The top of the tower completely shattered and fell in, as Slade and Savior tumbled into the abyss beyond it.

Well, Slade did, as Savior flung himself off Slade and fired off a Shimmer strand, piercing it into the 'wall' of the inside of the tower and pulling himself through falling shards of ice as he slammed into the side, ready if his perch broke under his impact. It didn't, so Savior coiled up and sprang, leaping across the inside of the ice tower to the wall opposite him, avoiding the last of the broken floor. He looked down.

And his eyes widened again.

He stared for a few seconds, and then he bounded off the wall again, leaping from wall to wall until he made it down to the floor. The second floor.

Savior had no idea how melting and freezing had formed the exact design, but here it was before him: the top of the tower had been hollow, the previous top Savior and Slade had been fighting in covering a empty area about 25 to 30 feet tall. Now Savior stood on the second floor, ice all around him, like he was inside a gigantic water glass.

And Slade stood before him, on his hands and knees, as if having barely landed well from a long wall, his eye clenched shut.

For a moment.

He opened it, the cold gaze falling onto Savior again, as he slowly stood up. Savior blinked.

The two looked at each other.

And then Slade relaxed his posture, just a bit, as he briefly stretched and popped various parts of his body, loosening them back up.

"Well Collins, I will give you this: you have definitely improved since the last time." Slade said.

And despite himself, Savior found himself smirking, just a bit, with one corner of his mouth.

"Coming from you, Deathstroke the Terminator, I will actually, and genuinely, consider that a compliment."

"Enjoy it. It will be the last one paid." Slade said, as he stretched his shoulders one last time and then reached behind him, drawing his sword. "Your actions have only ensured that now I will take this seriously."

"…Heh. Fine." Savior said, as he held out an open hand as the Shimmer began to flow out again. "So will I."

Savior expected a few reactions, but not the one he got: Slade chuckled.

"Ah Collins. Your attempts are admirable…but face it: one of us is bluffing. And I think you know which one of us that is."

Savior wanted to make a smart-ass comment.

None came to mind.

So he charged again.

And Slade waited, like a spider in his web, like a man who knew everything already and was just going through the motions.

* * *

Potent wished he could be feeling 1/30th of the calm confidence Slade was: it probably wouldn't have registered at all with his opponent but it would have made him feel better. 

"So…you ready to give up yet?" He rasped, his arms down, his gemsword partially on the ground, glaring at Solomon Grundy. Potent's immensely powerful shield had kept his face and body from being a bruised, swollen wreck with three teeth left in his head: indeed he looked more like how anime characters tended to get when they got in fights, covered with scuff marks, dirt, and the occasional bloody wound. But the truth was in his mind he shouldn't have a scratch. Not from a zombie running on growth hormones. One who simply would not stay down.

"Solomon Grundy born on a Monday." Was all Grundy said, as he lurched towards Potent. The older teen grit his teeth and got his gemsword up.

"Come on you sunnava…!" Potent snarled as he slashed his sword out, tearing another bloody wound across Grundy's arm.

Grundy didn't even seem to notice, as he brought his fist down on Potent's head, slamming him into the ground. Potent rasped out his air, and then Grundy began hammering on him again, pounding him into the ice, his brains rattling around in his head.

"Solomon Grundy." Grundy kept on saying. "Born on a Monday."

"Christened on a stark and stormy Tuesday?"

Grundy stopped dead, no pun intended, as the female voice spoke. Potent's lone eye above ground (half his face had been mashed into it) blinked open.

"Married on a gray and grisly Wednesday…" Hex said, as she stood nearby, ready to run for her life if necessary.

But Grundy didn't attack. Indeed, his face seemed to grow even duller as Hex spoke, and he actually took a step away from Potent.

"How did the rest go…Thursday…right. Ill on a mild and mellow Thursday." Hex said.

Grundy took another step back, as Potent shoved himself up from his semi-impression and stared.

"Worse on a…what…bright and breezy Friday…" Hex said.

Solomon Grundy actually seemed to wilt, as if the words were hurting him…or reminding him of an inescapable truth.

"Died on a gay and glorious Saturday…" Hex said, as Grundy's arms went limp at his sides, his face slack and fallen. "Buried on a baking blistering Sunday. That was the end of Solomon Grundy."

Hex's words were prophetic, as Grundy sank down a bit more, and then was still.

Potent got up, still staring, as Grundy sat there.

And them, with a bellowing scream, he charged.

Grundy's head flew through the air as Potent lopped it off, blackish-green blood spilling from the wound as his body collapsed.

"Well, that was…" Hex began, and was cut off as Potent reached down, seized the body, and whirled up, spinning around a few times before he hurled Grundy's corpse far off in the distance, snatching up his sword afterward.

"Really was…" Hex said, as Potent walked over to Grundy's head, and with a mighty stomp squashed it flat. "Was that really necessary?"

"He was dead. He needed to know it." Potent said, and spat.

"Right. Well no need to thank me…" Hex said as she briefly looked away, checking for OMAC's…and when she looked back Potent was gone, clearly desiring to take out his anger on other things. "…Right. And technically don't thank me. Thank Mr. Loeb."

Hex had been heading that way to pick up a fallen OMAC when she'd seen the pounding and inexplicably began reciting the nursery rhyme she faintly remembered when she heard Solomon Grundy say the first line. Best she didn't remain out here: the OMAC's seemed to be focused away at the moment but who knew how long that would last. She picked up the person (a young female, whose shorted-out OMAC armor was thankfully light: carrying deadweight for Hex was hard enough), and began making her way back to the rock as quickly as she could.

Yin was finishing placing a large number of recovered people down when she returned, Metatron helping him: Hex could barely see them through Ragnarok's disrupting shield. It worked: a few OMAC's had met their end trying to break it…

But no good thing lasts forever, for no sooner was Hex laying her retrieval down when the shield suddenly contracted and then vanished, and as Hex's eyes widened she looked around and found that Ragnarok had fallen to one knee.

"Collin!" She called, as she ran over, Metatron and Yin doing likewise. "Are you all right?"

"…I'm fine." Ragnarok said, as he stood back up, a bit unsteady but standing all the same. "Just tired. Normally I never use so many Catalysts at once…and never for so long, nothing ever required it. I'm unfamiliar with the effects…but don't worry about me…"

"Maybe you should rest." Yin suggested. Ragnarok glanced at him, his eyes hidden by his pulled down visor.

"The same applies to you Davis. You know cold makes your body brittle, and you've been out there too long. You need to heat up a bit. And what about you Adam?"

"The suit's holding up. I'm fine." Metatron said, as he took a few steps away. "In fact, I think I'm going to go…"

The punch nearly dislocated Metatron's jaw and sent him flying several feet to the floor, as Ragnarok recoiled, what, what had happened, he'd…

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Hex screamed as a gigantic series of blows suddenly slammed into her torso and face, causing her body to jerk backwards a few feet before she finally went down.

Ragnarok picked up the slightest hint of SOMETHING on his visor before a blow smashed into the back of his head and sent him pitching forward.

"Geezus!" Yin said as he tried to stretch away, his body making a strange creaking noise. "Where the hell…!"

The punch came from his left, and in a horrific wet cracking noise, went straight through Yin's body, his upper torso separating from the rest of his mass as he fell, screaming in agony, as Ragnarok looked up, his eyes shocked behind his visor…

As their attacker finally stopped moving, letting them see him.

"Ah childrrrrrrrrennnn." He said, a form Ragnarok knew, as his mouth went dry much like Savior's had earlier. He looked like the Flash…except instead of the color red, he wore yellow, a red lightning bolt of a black circle on his chest, his eyes hidden behind black lenses.

"You fall sovereasilyyyyyyy…butthenagain wwwwwwwwwhy expect anything else? What iswarrrrrrrrrr…but tragedy. And heroooooooeeesssss can only beimprovedby…tragedy." He said.

Zoom.

"Iffffffffffffffffff yousurvive."

* * *

Not many Green Lanterns had faced Sinestro and survived. 

Kyra would have wondered if she was going to be on or off that list, except fear and doubt would just weaken her ring. So she didn't think about it and tried to treat Sinestro if he was just any ordinary foe.

Easier then it seemed, as Sinestro roared as he came down, swinging his gigantic axe. Kyra blocked it with her weapon, the Master Sword, and clashed blades with Sinestro…moments before she formed three triangles on her other hand and blasted Sinestro away with a beam of power from them. But his defensive shield neutralized nearly the entire blow, and he came back with a vengeance. Kyra flew back, reforming the Master Sword into a Keyblade and slamming her weapon against Sinestro's again.

"It was always the mark of the lesser Lanterns to try and cover their inferiority with ludicrous choices for weapons and offensive maneuvers!" Sinestro snapped as he shoved Kyra away and slammed her with another blast of force, throwing her back. "Seeing you reminds me why those hypocrite Guardians deserved to die all over again!"

"Not from where I'm standing." Kyra hissed, as she reformed her weapon once again…into a seven-foot long masamune sword.

It clashed against Sinestro's axe, as the axe slid along it, Kyra jerking to the side and slashing rapidly against Sinestro's shield guard. It didn't pierce it, but Sinestro didn't seem to care for being struck away, as he snarled in rage again and smashed Kyra with three rapid fire force bolts, sending her crashing into the ground.

Sinestro flew down as she coughed and got up, wiping her mouth before she raised her arms. A green object that looked a lot like a guitar formed in her arms.

"Dance water dance!" She said, and hit the strings, green power surging out…and Sinestro found the ice around him suddenly exploding up and shaping into clone of Kyra, a light green covering of energy holding them as they all attacked him, wielding various weapons of ice. Sinestro bellowed and tore through them, smashing them to bits, but they were replaced by others, as Kyra jammed on her sitar, sending endless legions of ice clones of her and every single fictional character she could think of: Marios jumped on Sinestro, Captain Jack Sparrows jabbed him with swords, Obi-Wans did the same with lightsabers, Elmer Fudds shot guns of ice, Edward Hydes tried to punch and mangle him, Gandalfs told him he would not pass, Jackie Chans did various painful stunts off ice debris, and…

"ENOUGH!" Sinestro bellowed, as a massive dome of yellow power erupted from him, shattering all of Kyra's ice manifestations to dust and throwing Kyra back as she grit her teeth and dispelled the sitar, as Sinestro re-emerged, looking as pissed as ever.

"That is it! I will no longer tolerate the childish scribblings of a fifth-rate spawn of the damnable Corps!" Sinestro yelled, as he fired a massive spray of blasts from his ring. Kyra retreated again, as the ground before her was consumed by explosions.

"This is it? I'm just getting started!" Kyra said, as Sinestro flew back down to find her, even as her ring abruptly cloaked her in green robes and gave her a wand. "Flipendo!"

A green fireball flew from her wand and slammed into Sinestro, but he barely seemed to feel it as he went after Kyra.

"Accio…a really hot cherry pie!" Kyra ordered. A green cherry pie flew and slammed into Sinestro's face. He was about as amused as a corpse could be.

"Alohomora!" Kyra yelled. A green door and doorframe appeared in front of Sinestro…and then the door slammed open into his face.

Sinestro yelled and smashed her construct to bits with a punch before he resumed flying at her. Oh yeah he was REALLY mad now.

"Ok enough screwing around…SECTUMSEMPRA!" Kyra yelled, and began slashing her wand around, as blades of green power flew from it and slammed into Sinestro. That actually stopped him for a moment, but his shielding protected him once more, as he lashed out, driving the final slashes away with an explosion of yellow power before going for Kyra again.

"Fine. Big gun. EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Kyra yelled, and thrust her wand out.

And out came…a green beaver.

"…If this is a joke I don't get it and it's not funny." Kyra said, looking at her supposed Patronus.

"RARGH!" Sinestro yelled as he swung in and slashed down a gigantic blade.

"But hey, when in Rome…!" Kyra said, as she dove to the side, avoiding the blade as she thrust out her ring.

The beaver suddenly grew roughly fifteen times bigger.

So, as Sinestro turned to attack again, its tail was more then large enough to whack him away, hard.

"It's not the size of…" Kyra muttered, as her 'Patronus' and robes vanished, as Sinestro recovered and charged at her again, this time firing another spray of deadly yellow light spears and blades. Kyra furiously dodged them as she leapt back several feet. She couldn't keep this up much longer: she might knock him around or away some, but Sinestro wasn't showing a scratch otherwise, while she was about one step away from being a foot in the grave. If Sinestro didn't shove her all the way in first.

"Enough mimicking those spells. TIME TO CAST THE SPELLS THAT MAKES THE PEOPLES FALL DOWN!" Kyra yelled, as she thrust up her arms.

Sinestro stopped as the ten-foot duplicate of the Black Mage appeared over Kyra.

"What in the name of…"

"HADOKEN!"

"RAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sinestro bellowed as the mammoth blast of green power blasted him away, sending him tumbling end over end into the ground.

A second later 'Green Mage' disappeared, as Kyra shuddered and hunched over, breathing heavily. No, couldn't stop, as she raised her ring again and both it and her eyes glowed…

Sinestro was pulling himself up when he heard it, and he looked over…

The semi-trailer truck slammed Sinestro into the air, and even as he flew from the impact the truck transformed into a very familiar robot who introduced Sinestro to his very big gun, blowing the psychotic Korugarian into the ground as he was consumed by explosions.

But once again, Kyra's new friend didn't hang around long, swiftly fading away.

"You got the touch…you got the…" Kyra said, and then coughed violently, doubling over. "Ok, come on…" She said, as she floated over, landing nearby.

She knew it couldn't have been that easy, but her heart still sank when Sinestro rose up from the crater, his arms crossed, looking none the worse for wear for all of Kyra's pop culture assault.

"So, you wish to battle in a test of constructs, hmmmm?" Sinestro said.

"Bring it on, you bastard." Kyra said, as green armor covered her body and gifted her with twin giant cursed swords.

"As you wish." Sinestro said, as Kyra leapt at him…

The clawed hand was the size of a building, as it exploded up from a portal below Kyra and smashed into her with terrible impact, sending her flying up into the air…as another yellow portal appeared above her and a gigantic clawed foot slammed down, driving Kyra into the ground with horrendous impact and an earth-shattering crash.

Coughing more violently, her green armor falling off her in pieces, Kyra tried to get up…as a third portal appeared in front of her, and as she watched, a massive, demonic head emerged, utterly dwarfing Kyra, as Sinestro floated down over its head, the thin trail from his ring barely visible to indicate he had created the monstrosity, as Kyra shook her head, growled and flew up…

And the beast opened its mouth and fired, sending a gigantic blast of yellow power out that engulfed Kyra with a scream, sending her flying far off into the distance.

The beast vanished, as Sinestro flew after Kyra, ready for any more nonsense that she tried.

She didn't: Sinestro found her lying on the ground, not moving, her outfit shredded, a broken doll.

Beaten.

All that was left was the final strike.

* * *

It was kind of hard to miss a huge lightshow of green and yellow, even in the chaos surrounding the battlefield. Especially when the green light suddenly flew across the landscape, crash-landed, and didn't move. 

Brick blinked, his vision impaired by his swollen eyes but not to the point where he couldn't guess what had happened.

"Kyra…" He said. He was getting nowhere with his enemy, and Kyra was clearly in trouble, he needed to…

The foot smashed into his back, and Brick Wall stumbled and fell again.

"Getting distracted by pretty lights in the middle of a fight pretty much decides who the winner is going to be…though that was decided a while back." The General said as he stomped over. Brick Wall may have been, as the former 'personality' claimed "strong as a brick and tough as a brick", but the General was immensely strong too, and the fact that he was fairly quick as well meant he was landing eight punches to Brick's one, and that had added up, even for Brick's immense endurance level.

"I don't…suppose I could wave…a white flag and declare…you the winner." Brick grunted.

"This is war kid."

The punch floored Brick, throwing him onto his back.

"You can't just take your ball and go home when you don't want to play any more. You start what you finish. Even if that means your own." The General said, as he tightly clenched his fist, clearly going for a killing strike. "Thanks for the workout though. Be a good warm up for-ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The gemsword had exploded through the General's front, and as Brick watched Potent twisted the blade and yanked it out, as the General roared and swung a mighty backhand, but Potent was much smaller and quicker then Brick Wall as he ducked under it and went low…

And the General roared again as his right leg was severed at the knee, driving the General onto the ground from the crippling wound, as Potent spun back up.

"You…little bastard…you ambushed me…" The General snarled.

"Blah blah blah, can't you military types ever learn? All that garbage about honor, tactics, humility in victory, yadda yadda…it's just that. Garbage. All that matters is who wins. And I guess I do, General, for as loathe as the pun is, you no longer have a leg to…"

"SHUT UP YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" The General roared, as he shoved himself up…and as Potent's eyes widened he saw that tissue was extending out from the bloody stump of the General's leg, even as the hole Potent had opened up began to close. "Thought you won with one successful sneak attack eh? Stupid little punk! Artificial and genetically enhanced salamander DNA!" The General said, indicating his growing back leg.

Which was fully back, as the General roared and leapt.

"Oh come on that's just…" Potent cursed.

The punch slammed into the teenager and sent him flying, crashing into a few OMAC's as the General prepared to pounce on him.

Brick's massive arms seized on the rogue military officer from behind.

"Perhaps I am not quite ready…to retreat…" Was all Brick got out before the General's arms reached behind himself and grabbed, seizing Brick and yanking him over his body and into the ground with a mighty crash, as the General leapt high into the air and came down feet first, aiming for Brick's head.

He only found ice, as a pair of hands grabbed Brick Wall and yanked him away, the General nearly buried up to his waist in ice from the impact, as he turned around…

Potent rammed the gemsword through his open mouth and all the way out the back of his skull. The General let loose with a gurgling scream.

"Grow back from that!" Potent snarled.

The General's punch nearly severed the arrogant teenager's head from his shoulders despite the shield and sent him tumbling away, as the General, with some difficulty due to his giant hands, seized Potent's weapon and yanked it free, even as the wound began to close up.

The taste of his own blood sent him into a frenzy. He'd pound this little bastard into mush!

But Potent didn't seem much bothered as he got up, as the General yanked himself free and leapt into the air, heading for Potent. Potent held out his hand as his gemsword returned to him.

"Ok then. I'll just find a piece of you that WON'T grow back." Potent snapped, and gestured in the classic "Just Bring It!" motion as the General came down.

The two vanished in an explosion of up-tossed ice and snow as the General crashed down.

* * *

Dr. Light was supposedly a poor hand-to-hand combatant. 

Whoever wrote these things had to update their information: either he'd been training since his competence had been returned to him or the return of said competence had been enough.

He'd formed his golden light blades again, as he attacking Mary, slashing and whirring, using his light powers to speed himself up and lessen his body weight, as Mary tried to fend him off with her glaive, her face set in a permanent scowl as Light furiously slashed at her.

And did more then that, as he leapt, flipped, and while upside down continued to spin and slash, screwing up Mary's guard as she tried to block and dodge…and left herself open as Light landed behind her and whirled around, slicing both blades deeply across her flank, as Mary screamed and whirled, firing an explosive blast of dark power, which Light dodged by 'light-jumping' away again.

"Get over here!" Mary yelled, as she stabbed out with her daggertails. Light's own blades slashed out, deflecting the stabbing attack.

"Oh you wish to engage in a whip battle?" Dr. Light said, and then transformed one of his blades into a whip of his own, as he lashed out in a violent combo, forcing Mary back onto the defensive again…not quick enough, as the deadly tip found her shoulder and pierced into it, drawing another scream from her…

And then Light was back in her face, another light-jump, as he furiously attacked with his laser blades again, Mary reduced to using one arm as she tried to defend…

Her glaive was knocked from her hands, and with a yell of triumph Light lunged back and stabbed for her heart.

Mary's body broke down into darkness, like living oil, as she collapsed into a puddle, and even as Light stumbled forward a bit Mary surged over the ground and reformed behind him, as Light yelled and whirled around again.

Mary punched him in the face, sending him flying backwards. Light hit the ground, looking stunned, as blood began to leak from a split lip.

"Huh. Your blood is actually red. Maybe I should punch you in the back to see if you actually have a spine." Nightmare taunted. Dr. Light's face twisted in rage.

"SUFFER!" Light yelled, as he slammed his hands together and fired a massive blast of power, which Mary dodged, but Light was already back up and leaping into the air, as he thrust out his hands and fired a spray of needle-like blasts, the projectiles exploding on the ground around Mary…some on Mary, as she was knocked down with another yell, Light landing nearby.

"Come into The Light!" He snapped, as he thrust up his hands, and several glowing white spheres appeared around Mary, and even as her eyes widened they flew at her. Mary leapt-stumbled away, but Light wasn't done, as he light-jumped several feet to the side and formed more spheres around Mary, again making her scramble like a wild animal.

"Yes! Scamper! It will do you no good! Because the only light at the end of this tunnel…is The Light!" Dr. Light declared, as he zapped around twice more and called more radiant spheres, pinning Mary in…

Her eyes narrowed.

"Hey asshole, Dwayne Johnson called. He wants his gimmick back!" Mary snapped, and vanished into the ground again.

Light dispersed his spheres, his eyes flicking around.

And then a shadow flowed over him, and he turned around…

Nightmare stood there, now a twenty-foot giant of darkness, her eyes glowing with reddish fire.

It took everything Light had not to scream like a little girl.

Mary could tell. She'd gotten good at reading repressed fear.

For one, it made you screw up. Light may have been 'un-lobotomized', but that hadn't changed some things about him: doing great when you're in control does not mean you will do great when you're not.

And Light's reaction was pure knee-jerk, as he threw up his hands and threads of light bloomed between them before a few dozen smaller blasts flew from his hands and tore through Mary's gigantic body, and that hurt, but she could take it and return it…

As she roared and thrust her own hands out, and massive surges of dark power came in turn, one giant crushing wave of power instead of spread all over the place, as it came crashing down on Light.

As Nightmare expected, his scream wasn't exactly the most masculine.

But that only seemed to make it worse, as the darkness was quickly pierced through by light blasts as Light exploded from beneath it, encased in a golden orb of light as he screamed in fury and fired once more, this time with his own gigantic blast of power that enveloped Mary's upper half and destroyed it.

Light fell to the ground, panting heavily, as the remaining shadow material collapsed…and reformed, coming back together as Mary, who looked as exhausted as Light. But the fire was still clear in her eyes, as she formed another shadow glaive and gestured to the psychotic rapist.

"You know, if that's the best you can do, I don't see why this has to go on any longer." Mary said, with a confidence she didn't exactly feel. She'd hoped Light would falter, unused to long battles and vulnerable to the flaws in his character that existed mindwiped or not.

No such luck, as Light didn't falter. Instead…he grinned, a sick grin.

"Wrong." He said, as he raised a hand. "You don't see period."

And with a snap of his fingers, Mary felt something TEAR from her eyes, and she yelled and staggered back, shaking her head…

And, as her eyes blinked rapidly, she realized she couldn't see anything. No shapes, no colors, no movement, nothing. She was utterly blind.

"What is sight? Nothing more then the organic mirrors of the eyes reflecting…the light. And without it, well, your vision lacks anything resembling it." Light said.

And then he pointed and fired, and twin beams of light fired off…striking and blowing off Mary's long ears, as she screamed again.

"And that takes care of that." Light said.

And with a light-jump he was suddenly on Mary's left, as she jerked her head around. Light wished he could have said something, but he decided not to take the chance, as he threw up his hands, brilliance exploding on them.

Mary never saw it coming, never saw the concentrated blast of power, couldn't raise any kind of defense…as the blast struck her and engulfed her in an utter howl of agony.

It was music to Light's ears.

The light faded, and Light's eyes widened, not in surprise but in joy, as Mary collapsed to one knee, her arm blown clean off, laying next to her, her left side a mass of burnt gore. How could she still be alive, Light wasn't sure, but that just meant he could really enjoying grinding the last few sparks of life out of her.

Too bad she was fat, and this wasn't the best place. Otherwise Light might have even had other ideas.

* * *

The golden lightning of Zeus, in theory, could not run out like a battery. Especially after Ares had granted her his power. 

But Wonder Girl was starting to question that, as she shocked her latest OMAC into submission. What number was that, No. 659 maybe? Or was it 759, she was never that good with numbers.

Superboy had lead all right, but it didn't change the fact that he was facing thousands of OMAC's, more then a few of which were now shooting kryptonite beams at him. They just couldn't pierce their lines. Even when Donar had shown up, lending his mighty hammer, it was still an endless process, one that would wear them out long before the numbers on the other side did.

Which was why Cassie was so glad when Nightwing returned to the fray, disabling an OMAC with some of his remaining Nightarangs (which wasn't much), before he was forced to let the stronger metas cover for him: Donar and Scorched Earth did nicely, as Conner flew back to Nightwing's side. Cassie swiftly did likewise.

"…ok?" Superboy was saying when she got close.

"Great. How's the charge going?"

"Well, instead of being utterly stopped, now we're just being almost entirely stopped." Wonder Girl said.

A deadly blade of plastic flew at the group: Wonder Girl deflected it with her bracelets and an arriving Scorched Earth neutralized the attacking OMAC.

"Dick…I tried…there's just…" Conner said, as he felt that old doubt creeping up again.

Then Dick grabbed his shoulder.

"Then keep trying! That's all we can do!" Nightwing said, as he pulled out his Escrima sticks. "Keep going! Keep trying! And don't get surrounded!"

"That may already be too late!" Donar yelled as he flew past, and Nightwing jerked his head around to see him attacking a group of OMAC's that had been circling around the front attackers, even as another group came to reinforce them. His eyes narrowed.

They couldn't go forward and it was beginning to look like they couldn't go back.

Which meant he'd just have to prove himself wrong about going forward.

"LET'S GO!" He yelled, and the Titans flew back to the attack again.

* * *

Like the situation before Nightwing and Co, Ion had felt helpless. 

For a second, before he surged forward again towards the hands.

And this time he wasn't alone.

"EVERYONE!" Donna Troy yelled: she too was done standing around feeling like there was nothing she could do. She'd organized all this, she was alive when she could have been dead because of this, and if she couldn't do anything with her fists she'd do something with her words. "Follow Kyle's lead! GO! GO!"

"You heard the lady Kory!" Cyborg said, as jets opened up in his boots, ankles, waist, and back.

"I am ready Victor!" Starfire replied, as the two flew to join the charge, Ion in the lead, his fellow Green Lanterns and heroes backing him up.

As the hands began bringing the Earths together…

* * *

Well, there were worse ways for a Green Lantern to die. Hell, that alien Ch'p had been hit by a yellow truck… 

But Kyra Collins didn't want to die…she'd barely begun to live, as Sinestro seized her with his ring energy and pulled her up, looking with angry disgust into her battered face.

"What a joke." Sinestro said, and punched Kyra again, snapping her head back violently before it went limp, her face dangling towards the ground. "I barely tolerated this Society in the hope they would find me more victims. But if this is all they can offer, then I may as well have destroyed them before accepting. You dare call yourself a Green Lantern?" Sinestro said, as he formed a blade on his other hand.

"…I'm more…then a Green Lantern…" Kyra whispered.

Sinestro drew the blade back to eviscerate Kyra.

As she snapped her head up, her eyes glowing black.

"I am my mother's daughter." Kyra said, as she and Sinestro locked eyes.

And Kyra shot out with her latent mental powers, the ones she had been given at birth…the same ones she had used on Fatality, blocking her sight so she didn't see the lines on her weapons, something that had required her to maintain eye contact with the alien for some time…but this required much less subtlety, as Kyra reached out into Sinestro's mind and did the equivalent of striking it in the genitals with a jackhammer.

"ARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Sinestro bellowed, rearing back, his yellow constructs disintegrating and his personal shield breaking down, his concentration to maintain them shattered by the telepathic blow. It was a dishonorable thing, something Sinestro probably would have done himself…but Sinestro wasn't worthy of honor. He was worthy of just one thing, as Kyra stood up, and as Sinestro began to recover she lashed out again, blood dripping from her nose as Sinestro reared back, clawing at his head.

As a chain emerged from the wrist of her long coat, covered in black power as it began circling around Kyra's hand, as she wove it in a well-known pattern and clenched her fist, as Sinestro ceased clawing at his face…

"In brightest day, in blackest night…" Kyra yelled as she ran. "All evil, shall beware…**_MY RIGHT!"_**

And she chain-punched Sinestro as hard as she could, the impact slamming down her whole arm, knocking Sinestro ass over elbows backwards even as blood and a tooth exploded from his mouth.

He hit the ground, hard.

Kyra lowered her hand, staring in disbelief. She couldn't believe it had worked. Power rings had automatic defenses to protect their user from harm, even under mental attack…except Sinestro didn't have a power ring. He had a Qwardian copy, built for offense…and that, in the end, was all she wrote.

Kyra sighed.

"The Green Lanterns taught me much, but humanity taught me my greatest lesson: Win if you can, lose if you must…but always cheat." She told the fallen alien, and turned away.

Sinestro surged up, screaming.

And Kyra broke two fingers punching him again, smashing him through the air and into a slab of ice, which shattered and collapsed on him. He did not re-emerge a third time.

"Ow. Rats." Kyra said, as she formed an alien medical device to tend to her hand. "I was hoping for one punch."

* * *

"I almost wish you could hear me." Dr. Light said as he approached, as Mary, in utterly torturous pain, moaned and mumbled nonsense, occasionally spasming a bit in the way those with horrendous injuries did. "Wish you could hear me saying just how utterly wretched you are." 

A dagger of light energy formed in Dr. Light's hand. He wasn't yet sure if he was going to stick it in her throat or some place far more intimate, though he was leaning towards the latter.

"Women. All the same. That's the way I prefer them." Light said as he stepped up to Mary, still blind due to his manipulation. She didn't even know he was there. He'd have to watch her face as he thrust it in. "No sight, no sound…but still pain, bitch."

Light bent down…

And Mary seized him by his front, grabbing him in a grip of iron as Dr. Light's heart nearly exploded in shock.

"I CAN STILL SMELL YOU YOU BASTARD." Mary snarled.

And she slammed her head forward, ramming it into Light's face before he could react, and then again, and again, and again, blood spraying from the sadist's face before Mary stood up, despite her unspeakable wounds, and kicked Light as hard as she could, hearing some kind of bone snap as he flew away with a scream.

Her vision swam back, Light no longer focusing on the blinding technique, and with another cry of pain she reached out, shadow energy consuming her as a tendril reached out and seized her severed arm, pulling it back to her.

Light, his face severely bloodied and his wrist fractured, was in his own pain, but not enough to keep from seeing the shadows consume Mary again, writhing around her…and then dispelling back into the ground.

Light's eyes widened: it was all gone. All his damage was gone, like it had never been. Even when he'd hit actual skin and bone, the accursed bitch of darkness had just popped it back on like she was Mrs. Potato Head.

Nightmare certainly didn't feel fresh as new though, as she hunched over, feeling light-headed and hyperventilating. She was exhausted, she couldn't keep going, she'd already burned off nearly 40 pounds of weight from all her exertion, she couldn't…

"ARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHH!" She heard Light scream in frustration and rage (and under that, fear), and as she looked up he floated up off the ground, shining so brightly she could only make out his silhouette before she had to shield her eyes. "YOU WILL DIE! I WILL PURGE THE DARKNESS FROM YOU, AND YOU, WITH MY ALMIGHTY LIGHT!"

Ok so it wasn't the best battle declaration, but Light was immensely rattled and panicking…and also charging up a considerable amount of power.

…So much for napping. Well, the worst that could happen was she'd blow herself up.

"All right then, you wanna do the Z thing? Bring it." Mary said, as she thrust out her arms and began calling all that remained of her power, calling on the darkness, bending it to her will, becoming its master…

Light fired, twin blasts of all-consuming radiance.

And Mary fired in turn, a ray of pure night.

The two met…and exploded against each other, tearing up the ground beneath them, as neither backed down from their attack.

"No. You will cease to exist! The Light will CONSUME YOU!" Light yelled, and redoubled his efforts.

Nightwing had been avoiding another OMAC when he noticed it: like they were all fighting under a lone light bulb, the area around them was dimming.

"What the…!" Scorched Earth said, noticing it too. "Are the stars going out?"

"…No." Nightwing said: he'd seen this before. "It's Light! He must be around, he's sucking up all the ambient light, be careful, look…!" Nightwing said as he looked around, trying to see if Light was trying to blast them.

He wasn't, he was some distance away, even as all light vanished around the confrontation, leaving pitch blackness that was only pierced by Light's power, as it broke through the alien's ray, he was going to win, to destroy her…!

"Oh great idea IDIOT!" Mary yelled. "Suck all the light into your attack for power! Leaving just darkness! What do you think I feed on for power, OREOES?"

And Light's ray stopped dead, as Mary in turn called on the darkness around her caused by Light's manipulation and focused it into her own beam.

In reality, this should have simply ended in a stalemate until one of them collapsed.

But while their powers matched each other, their characters did not.

Mary remembered Mr. Collins telling her that in combat that if a man shoved a bayonet into his foe and felt mush, he'd keep pushing, but if he felt steel, he'd draw back.

And Mary felt the softness, as she screamed and sent one final blast down through her attack.

And proved that when it came to bayonets, she was the one that had the steel, as Light's attack disintegrated utterly before Mary's blast of shadow.

"IIIYYYEAARRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Light screamed as he was enveloped and blown away, blasted through two boulders of ice and bouncing across the ground for a long distance before he stopped, on his back, his outfit wrecked and his eyes wide with fear, as he whimpered and shook.

A shadow fell over her, and he looked up.

Mary's bladed foot stomped down on his throat, pinning Light to the ground.

"I could do so many things to you right now." Mary said, as Light's eyes filled with terror. "But then I'd be no better then you."

And Mary lifted her foot and violently kicked Light across the face, knocking him into blissful unconsciousness.

"And I AM better then you." Mary finished.

"I'd say."

Mary turned to look at Kyra, floating nearby.

"Man, and to think I kept telling you to diet." Kyra said, looking at Mary's greatly reduced frame, so much mass consumed in Mary's efforts. "I think you've earned a few cake binges when we've fixed everything."

"You're damn skippy." Mary said.

"Can you go on?"

"I feel like I've been pureed and then shoved into a tube, but I'm not quite done yet. But my power reserves are running low Kyra. I don't know if I can take another focused battle."

"Oh good. Because that's not my idea."

* * *

The Speed Force was gone. 

But Hunter Zolomon, the man known as Zoom, did not use the Speed Force for his acts of velocity. Instead, he possessed a talent called chronokinesis: he could personally manipulate his own time-frame to grant the illusion of super-speed. An illusion that could surpass the actual deal.

True, recently Hunter Zolomon, who was more of a tragic and misguided figure then an actual villain, had seemed ready to enter another stage in his life, but Psycho-Pirate's manipulations had gotten him back into his old habit: making heroes 'better' through tragedy. And since the Flash wasn't around, anyone would do, including these teenagers.

"Suffffffering…it is what youallneedbelieve me…" Zoom continued to speak: his constant manipulation due to his 'out of sync nature' with normal time caused various vocal anomalies as he spoke: some words came out drawn out on syllables while others were mashed together. "You will immmmmmproveeeeeyourselfto try and make suuuuuurrrreeeeeee itwill not happen again…and in doing so youwillbecomemuuuuuccccccchhhh betterheroes. It is thewayitmust be…onnnnnnnneeeeedayyou will realize it."

"OH REALIZE THIS!" Metatron snarled, as he hurled golden energy blasts at Zoom.

Zoom was punching him almost as soon as they left his hands, and by the time they hit where Metatron had aimed Zoom had already punched the demon nearly 200 times. While Zoom couldn't do the 'greater-speed-equals-greater-mass' trick Speed Force users could have done, his punches were still hard, and directed all over Metatron's body, ravaging him as he collapsed, coughing up blood.

"Stop it!" Ragnarok yelled, as he tried to get over to Yin: he'd hit Yin while he was too brittle, Yin had broken, he had to save him. "You're killing him!"

"Killing? But that's thewhooooooolepoint." Zoom said as he phased back into human comprehensive sight.

Hex might have been trying to throw one of her namesake blasts: Zoom had punched her off her feet and was back before Ragnarok even realized it.

"Deaattttttttthhhhh…is a part of this worldyouliveiiiiiiiinnnnnnn…youseeothers die, so that you will motivate yourselftosaveothersintime…Iamonlydoing what is neeeeeeedddddedddddforyoutobecome better heroes."

"You…would lecture us on being heroes!" Ragnarok snapped, and pointed at Yin. "Is this what a hero does!"

"I neeeeeeeevvvvvver saidIwas…ahero…I am merely playingmyyyyyyyyyyrolein this eternal tragedy."

Zoom was gone as Metatron slashed at him, and then Metatron slammed into the ground as Zoom punched him in the back of the head.

"Though Istillwonderiffffffffffffff…any of you cannnnnnnnnnnnsurvive."

Hex was back, and Metatron wasn't down yet, as they both tried to attack Zoom.

The next second their heads were being slammed together. They reeled back, trying to recover and fire blasts that didn't have a hope in hell of hitting.

Ragnarok would have helped, except he was too busy trying to tend to Yin…except that he couldn't really do that either with Metatron and Hex being pummeled to jelly in front of him. But what could he do? Zoom was just far too fast…his power was clear in what he'd done to Yin…and was doing to Metatron and Hex, as he watched the two of them swiftly fall under Zoom's blows.

"STOP!" He yelled.

Zoom, surprisingly, did.

"But childreeeeeeeen…it has tobethiswayyyyyyyyy…"

Metatron leapt to attack again: Zoom punched him 58 times before Metatron could even begin extending his arm, and Hex despite a terrible limp was getting up again just to be…

"I SAID STOP!" Ragnarok screamed.

And dark power surged outward from his body and exploded over everything nearby.

And Zoom suddenly 'shorted' back into visibility as he nearly tripped, stopping at the last second from falling on his face.

"…What?" Zoom said, his voice sounding normal as he looked at Ragnarok. "How did…"

And then he heard it, and he turned, trying to call on his speed…speed that was no longer there.

Hex's boot heel slammed into his face and knocked him down, his head slamming into the ground to add to the effect as he went still, as Hex landed and nearly fell down from her hurt leg.

"…well, that was anticlimactic." She commented.

Then she remembered Yin.

"Davis! Oh damn…!" Hex said as she limped over.

And saw, much to her amazement and horror, that the adult shapeshifter was STILL ALIVE, barely, as Ragnarok snorted loudly, not sure just what he'd done, maybe the Dark Catalyst had reacted to his emotion and somehow snapped Zoom back into sync with time, he didn't care, he had to save Yin, as he called on both the White and Golden Catalysts and augmented it some more with the Dark one as he placed one hand on Yin's torso and the other on the rest of his body, floating them up and bringing them together…

And with a flash, they were one again, as Yin sat up, blinking his eyes in confusion.

"Did that just happen?"

"Believe it…" Ragnarok said as he got up. Before Hex could say anything Ragnarok had placed a hand on her and, with a smaller flash of light, her leg was fixed.

"…Collin, are you all right? You look like you've had it."

"Then you would be wrong." Ragnarok said as he fixed up Metatron. He wasn't lying. He wasn't in pain…he just felt…rather strange. Tired too, but mostly strange. "I still have plenty of gas in my tank."

"Good." Kyra said, as everyone jerked to see that the Green Lantern was now floating nearby, Nightmare with her. "Because I have a great place to start a fire."

* * *

"Grahhhhhhhhhh! Dammit Donar, you were with the hero team, didn't you have files on this damn incident?" Scorched Earth yelled as he blew away two more OMAC's. 

"Perhaps we once did, but time itself is under assault, and perhaps in that the knowledge was lost!" Donar replied as he called upon the wind and managed to distract some OMAC's long enough for Nightwing and Superboy to take them out…and then immediately retreat as fourteen new ones tried to kill them immediately afterward.

"Dammit!" Scorched Earth cursed again, as he barely avoided the eye beams of three other OMAC's. "I don't think I can handle this much longer!"

"You will Jack! Because you have to! That is our way!" Donar yelled, as he fended off his own attackers.

"I'm beginning to see why you heroes tend to die then! I don't want to die!" Scorched Earth yelled back.

"Then FIGHT HARDER!" Wonder Girl yelled as she punched another OMAC away from her.

"Easier said then-ARGH!" Scorched Earth yelled as he was blasted by four separate rays, flying back and hitting the ground as he clutched his wounds.

"Damn. Fall back! Fall back!" Nightwing yelled as he grudgingly gave ground. He never thought he would miss the villains, but their ranks seemed to have thinned down to nothing, leaving nothing to keep the OMAC's from mass targeting them.

"I…I can't…what?" Scorched Earth said. "What?"

"Hang on Conner! These infernal machines have not bested us yet!" Donar said as he smashed two OMAC's trying to flank Conner, and nearly got flanked himself.

"But they just won't end! There's a solid wall between us and the Tower!"

"All walls crumble! You just need…!"

"ARGH!" Wonder Girl yelled, but in frustration rather then pain. "The bastard's running!"

"What?" Nightwing said, as he looked over to where Wonder Girl was…and saw that Scorched Earth was flying away, leaving his teammates behind. "Ah damn!"

"Come back here you coward!" Wonder Girl yelled.

"Cassie! Watch out!" Superboy yelled as he flew in and punched an OMAC away before it could spear his girlfriend from behind.

"Damn, damn, damn." Nightwing hissed to himself: he didn't know the meaning of the word hopeless but this wasn't working, they'd regrouped and pushed and poked and prodded and the defenses remained impenetrable, and his teammates were losing hope and fleeing, like Scorched Earth just had…

Nightwing had happened to glance back again when he'd thought of Scorched Earth.

And he saw it. He hadn't been looking at the right angle the first time, which was the only way he could explain that he'd missed it.

The massive black sphere of power, floating over the rock platform of the rear guard…as Scorched Earth flew to it and stopped.

And Nightwing realized. He hadn't been running. He'd been…called. Didn't Myth have mild telepathy? Was her dad there planning…

And then Nightwing came onto a rough estimate of what they were planning: oh dear…

"Arrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh! Kyra I can't hold this much longer!" Mary yelled, the effort burning through her as she held her attack above her head

"You don't need to! Ready Rag?" Kyra asked from where she floated in front of Mary and her massive black orb.

"Ready!" Ragnarok said from behind Mary.

"Ok then! Everyone else! FULL POWER INTO RAGNAROK!"

"You sure you won't blow up?" Scorched Earth asked.

"DO IT!" Metatron yelled, and Scorched Earth shrugged and fired, even as Metatron aimed golden beams of his own power and Hex fired her pink blast, all into Ragnarok's chest, as he grunted and then turned around, letting the power charge within him.

Yin coiled around and positioning himself near Mary, who was still forming her gigantic shadow sphere, as Kyra flew up into the air and thrust her power ring down, green energy flowing out into the massed Titans.

The three behind Ragnarok continued to pour their power into him, as Mary yelled and the sphere began to be drawn down as well, even as the green energy grew in mass around the ground, as Ragnarok reached out and seized it in turn.

Kyra flew down into the ground, as Mary's shadow sphere was sucked into the chaos…

And Ragnarok screamed, as his own power and Kyra's fully combined, as a gigantic gun appeared above the group and fell onto the four's shoulders, as the remaining three rushed up behind them and seized the end.

Ragnarok's arm, buried deep inside the group's creation, held the trigger.

"And…FIRE!" Kyra ordered.

And a colossal blast of energy exploded from the gun, blasting out from the rock platform and towards the front lines of OMAC's.

"Oh my." Nightwing said, and then hit the deck.

The blast tore through the OMAC's like they weren't even there, blasting through their ranks like nothing and blowing all the robots that weren't actually caught in the blast through immense kinetic power. Regrettably, the blast did not hit the golden tower: it flew past it and detonated in the distance, but the damage was done.

Nightwing looked up at it: a hole. They'd punched through the defenses.

"GO!" Nightwing yelled, as he ran for it.

"Come on guys!" Kyra yelled as the gun faded away, the combination effort no longer needed (and besides, Mary was too drained to attempt another shot like that again). "Let's provide a distraction!"

And distract they did, as they flew forward and attacked the remaining legions, keeping them from focusing entirely on Nightwing, Superboy, Wonder Girl, and Donar as they ran and flew for it…

And made it.

The hole closed again, far too quickly, but it didn't matter: those four were through.

Now Kyra and co would make sure they caused enough trouble to keep all the OMAC's from turning around and attacking those four, allowing them to finish their jobs.

"Hey Mary, I bet I can get more then you." Kyra said as she formed a green smart gun.

Mary just groaned, but then the OMAC's were on them and the blades were out, as the newly reformed group fought with renewed fury.

* * *

The explosion was so loud it even jerked Alexander out of his state of concentration, and he growled: he did not NEED this, he was in the final stages of his plan, what was that, it didn't matter, as he turned back to his rift and his work… 

Considering how scared he had been before, you would think the Psycho-Pirate would now be running for the hills, but as said he had found something else to distract him.

Power Girl, plugged into the tower, the object of Roger Halston's maniac lust. He'd spent the last bit of time just looking at her, stroking and touching her (the superheroine thankfully unconscious and unaware of this fact). The fact that he was so deep into the fugue he didn't even notice the gigantic combined blast that had blown through the OMAC wall spoke of the depth of his obsession: he'd learned to tune the racket out, so he could be alone with his intended…

"Pretty little Power Girl…" The Psycho-Pirate cooed. "Alex promised you to me. And when this is over, I'll remind him of that."

"Hey, Pirate…"

Halston had learned to phase out the background noise of war…but not a sudden new voice speaking practically in his ear, as his eyes went wide behind his mask and he turned…

"She's WAY out of your league." Superboy said as he floored the Psycho-Pirate with a punch, sending him flying.

Halston's scream broke Alexander's concentration again.

"What?" He said, as he turned around and looked down on the Tower below, unable to believe it: some of those supposed heroes had broken through his defenses! They were right at his doorstop!

…Not that that mattered to him: the hundred or so OMAC's Potent had observed a long time ago had been reinforced by several hundred more, and they had already sprung to his defense, attacking the interlopers.

They'd deal with them. He had more important business, as he turned back to his rift.

* * *

Titans Tower. 

Earths crashed and died above her.

Water from the ocean, the tides whipped into a frenzy, exploded on the Titans' island, hammering the building, some spray even reaching all the way up to the top of it. The tower had been designed to take tidal impacts, but the constant battles it had seen had worn it down, and the water slamming into it might yet finish it off.

But the figure on top of the Tower was a figure of calm, even as wind tore at her and the building shuddered beneath her.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" Raven whispered, as she held the artifact tightly to her, reaching out with the briefly augmented power she had, her normal range and abilities multiplied many times over.

But even so, this would not be easy…

* * *

"Hmmmm, nine minutes. Not only did we actually win the first fight, I think we set a new world record doing it." Gauntlet said as the Titans stood over the bodies of the fallen Metas they had brawled with. 

Robin hadn't liked fighting with them, at least two were more scared and lashing out like animals then actually doing anything malicious, but in times like this, sometimes the only thing could do to keep from being consumed by the madness himself was cling onto whatever he could, even something seemingly as worthless as the law. And it was against the law to steal.

"Nice work. Though I must remind you there is a maximum of 32 minutes before there is another lightning superstorm that will destroy this city." Viridian said from Robin's communicator. Robin resisted the urge to tear it off and smash it into the ground.

"All right…Tara! You think maybe you could get, I don't know, some kind of rock shield over the city?" Robin asked.

"What? Maybe if I had a week or two! 30 minutes? I'm sorry Robin." Terra said. Robin gazed helplessly over his teammates. They all had so much power, he'd seen them do so much, they'd made him proud…but there was nothing any of them could do here…

And Nigel suddenly yelled, doubling over in agony, as Robin's eyes widened in shock.

"Nigel!"

"Nigel! What's going on?" Beast Boy asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No…I just…something terrible is happening…Sophie…she's in terrible danger…she could die…I can feel it, in my gut…I have to do something…anything…!" The alien stammered, as he began walking around in a weird jerky pattern like a broken machine, lost, unable to find a destination.

"Damn. What do we do Robin?" Terra asked.

Robin opened his mouth…and found nothing.

He couldn't even begin to conceive of a plan.

It really was the end of the world.

"Um, guys…?" Gauntlet said. For some reason, everyone looked at him. "It might just be the ringing in my ears from that sonic weapon Whathisgun used…but do you hear something?"

* * *

Ion had tremendous backup: along with him there were several other human and alien Green Lanterns, as well as Firestorm, Supergirl, The Red Tornado, Adam Strange, Shift, and several others, including Starfire and Cyborg. 

And absolutely none of them were doing a damn thing in their second attack on the hands (which had been acting strangely: they'd begin to push the planets, then draw back, then start over, then draw back again, then actually leave for a moment and then return, starting to push and then draw back, like the owner of said hands was distracted on the other side). This time though, Ion could see the determination in the hands, as they began to shove the two Earths towards each other.

"Argh. NO!" Ion said. "EVERYONE! AT THE SAME TIME!"

"All right…" Cyborg said, as he adjusted his position. "Once more into the breach, Kory."

"I would rather not charge into underwear Friend Victor." Starfire replied. Cyborg stared for a moment, and then nearly cracked up.

"No no Kory! Underwear is britches, breach is…never mind! Here we go!" Cyborg said.

"Cyborg, I know that perhaps this is not unusual, what with the warping of the time and space by both sides, perhaps most clearly indicated we are both surviving and having a conversation in the supposedly airless vacuum of space…but is it wrong if I hear a whispering inside my head?"

"…No…I hear it too…" Cyborg said.

* * *

Alexander Luthor could feel the attacks, but he ignored them. He had completely devoted his mind to the task at hand, as he clutched Earth-2 and Earth-3 on the other side of the rift. 

"Superman, the greatest hero on Earth-2…my father, Lex Luthor, the greatest hero on Earth-3…the universe says Supermen and Luthors are destined to be at odds…"

It is truly a terrifying sight to see twisted logic gel in a madman's eyes as he hits upon a solution…but only in his mind.

"Maybe the universe is wrong…I'll FUSE THEM TOGETHER." Alex said through clenched teeth. "It WILL work."

* * *

Wonder Girl flew backwards from the impact of a blast of energy, and cursed under her breath as OMAC's swarmed before her. 

"Every time I get close enough to J'onn, they get in my way!" Wonder Girl said, angry that her attempts to free their allies was getting nowhere.

"I'll clear a path!" Superboy yelled as he charged into the fray, crashing through the OMAC's with renewed vigor: he'd made it this far, now he'd prove that the others had been right to have faith in him…!

Nightwing was avoiding the battle mostly, as Superboy, Donar, and Wonder Girl clashed with the OMAC defenders…as he had ordered. Distracted away from him. Nightwing was clambering up the Tower, heading for his target.

But he was too late.

* * *

The planets touched…and began to merge. 

And on those planets, some felt the effects more then others.

"AIIIIIIIRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Elementals screamed: they all, as it turned out, had counterparts on Earth-3, even the Air Elemental, and now they were being forcibly merged with them, as the JSA, the Scientist, and Sophie watched in utter horror.

Elsewhere, Owlman and Johnny Quick found themselves doing the same as the forms of their fellows Ultraman and Superwoman and that of their great enemy Lex Luthor seemed to magically appear before them being twisted into the bodies of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Kal-L. It was a hideous process, and the three were clearly in utter agony, crying out at this blasphemy of nature and life.

* * *

Alexander Luthor was heedless to their torment: it was just growing pain. It was for the best. 

Even though the whole process seemed to resist him. But he pressed on, merging the planets, it would work…

"It HAS to work." Alexander said. "For the sake of REALITY."

* * *

Ion saw the merger as his troops gathered around him. And he knew this was it. 

"Oh please don't let me be too late…" Ion said.

* * *

The power of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man was immense: the ability to manipulate matter itself, among others. Perhaps to contain all this power, Firestorm had rarely been just one man: he had been created when a nuclear accident had fused teenager Ronnie Raymond and Nobel Prize winning physics professor Martin Stein into a single being. This puzzle piece nature had continued through Firestorm's subsequent changes and rebirths. Recently, Ronnie Raymond had died, and his talent had been granted to a new man named Jason Rusch. Jason had been fused with his friend Mick to form Firestorm when Donna Troy had called on his aid, but the battles in space as Alexander Luthor had begun the final stages of his plan had disrupted the merging and nearly killed The Nuclear Man. In the end Jason had lost his friend Mick, but Firestorm had been reborn once more as Dr. Martin Stein returned to the merger. Now Jason Rusch was in space, readying for his part in the group attack. 

Jason was still very new to the hero business though, and hence Stein served as his advisor. And the boon of that would become clear.

"Jason, look at the molecular structure of our target. Those hands are made up of something called antimatter." Stein said in Jason's head.

"What? Then why aren't we blowing up?"

"This does not appear to be the type of antimatter that would cause violent reactions when exposed to our natural positive matter."

"So what do I do Professor?"

"FIRE!" Ion yelled, and a myriad of blasts flew down towards the hand, Firestorm's among them.

"Jason! Don't just shoot! Reach out…change the Starbolts and the lightning-change everything they're throwing at it-into raw positive matter!"

"Ok!" Jason said, as he reached out, seized the energy with his mind…and transformed it, as all the blasts combined together as they struck the gigantic hand.

With cataclysmic consequences, as an explosion big enough to vaporize a continent erupted from the impact point, and then the hand jerked back, even as another explosion of brilliant light erupted from the rift and slammed into the group, hurling everyone away.

* * *

"ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Alexander howled in pain as he jerked his hand back out: his index finger was gone, blown clean off. Those so called superheroes had hurt him! Crippled him! And they'd screwed up his merging, as he looked back to his rift and saw that the two Earths, no longer being forced together, has separated and drifted back into the masses of other Earths, hiding among them. 

Alexander grit his teeth in utter fury. Did they think they would get away with this?

* * *

Earth-2. 

"What…what was that?" Wonder Woman said: a moment ago she had been in agonizing pain and now she was back in the ruins of Metropolis without a wound on her.

"Alex nearly merged Earth-2 with another." Kal-L said: he and Superman were likewise all right. "But we're out of his grasp. Something stopped him."

* * *

Space. 

"Ugh." Ion said, as he shook his head: that had been one hell of a backlash…

And as Ion realized it, not everyone was with him, as he looked around.

"Where is everyone…"

"Do a head count…"

"Caught in that blast…"

"…all gone…?"

"What happened?" Ion said. "Where did they all go?"

* * *

Earth-1. 

Blades, one metal and one energy, clashed together.

Savior had pulled out another old trick: by densely concentrating Shimmer energy he could form a weapon (in this case a sword) that would be immune to the Shimmer's usual blade weaknesses. This S4 (Shimmer Super Strand Sword) had other perks: it had no weight, Savior couldn't be disarmed like he could if he had a normal sword, and linked with its host it allowed Savior a near-sixth sense when it came to protecting his body.

And even with all those advantages…Savior was still losing.

The gulf between Savior and Slade, despite Savior's powers, was never more apparent: Savior had only inflicted a few light blows on Slade, while Slade had inflicted several more far effective blows…including slamming his foot into Savior's chest, as Savior stumbled back, hitting one of the ice chunks that had fallen down into this pit and impaled in the ice floor. His right arm felt like it was on fire: Slade's sword slash near the elbow was slowly causing it to grow more and more pained as Savior tried to use the arm.

"I will give you one thing Collins, you handle a blade well for an amateur." Slade said, as he leapt in and slashed. Savior slid to the ground as the blade cleaved through the ice, and kicked for Slade's gut, but Slade caught the leg and yanked backwards and up, throwing Savior up as he crashed into the ice chunk again, nearly landing on his head as he hit the ground.

Slade's sword stabbed down.

Savior blocked without looking, the sixth sense saving him as he extended the blade and stabbed at Slade, forcing him to back up as Savior leapt to his feet and attacked. The blades clashed, again and again, the sound echoing off the inner walls of the chamber as various reflections of the pair danced across certain ice surfaces.

Savior finally got a good hit in, knocking Slade's sword away and causing him to lose his grip on it with one hand, as Savior lunged for the opening, but Slade did an expert upward leap forward, just going over Savior's sword as he slammed a hand on one of Savior's shoulders and flipped over him. Savior didn't give him enough time to stab him in the back though, as he whirled and slashed, only to find that was just what Slade had planned: instead of going for an immediate attack he dropped low to the ground, and as Savior whirled around he exposed himself, as Slade slashed out his sword and sliced across the back of Savior's knee. Savior yelled in pain, but he managed to turn around to stop Slade's follow up stab, though he stumbled back and fell, his left leg giving out.

"Hmmmmmm. That wasn't as deep as I wanted, but you certainly seem to be feeling it Collins." Slade said.

Savior pulled himself to his feet, the same burning feeling going down his leg now. Son of a bitch…

"Well Slade, if this is the best you can do, you're slipping, old man!" Savior said, and charged.

Slade got into combat position as Savior ran at him…and then leapt away as Shimmer strands exploded from the ground below him. He slashed at them, and Savior jerked them away in a panic…and left himself open again as Slade's sword slashed into and cut deep into his forearm. Savior yelled again, this time with a more howling animal quality, as he tried to turn, and then Slade's fist slammed into his chin and knocked him to the ground again.

"I could have stuck this in your throat, you know." Slade said, as he held out his arm and partially withdrew a concealed dagger from beneath his wrist before slipping it back in. "But I chose not to, because I feel you haven't fully learned your lesson yet."

"Oh how nice…but I've been out of school for a while now Slade." Savior said as he somehow got up. He used the Shimmer to brace his new wounds, and even then it was clear both his arms and his leg weren't at 100 percent.

"The hardest lessons are the ones life teaches. And I'm afraid you never learned the proper rules about survival, Collins." Slade said, as he charged.

Savior met his charge, forming his sword once more…

And then leaping to the side, as he sliced off the top of another chunk of ice and seized it with a Shimmer strand, hurling it at Slade.

One fierce slash from the assassin smashed it to pieces, the parts splattering Slade as he recoiled a bit, quickly brushing his mask off as he…

Gone.

Savior was gone.

Slade immediately went still, listening, his eye darting around…

He heard it, a cracking noise, but the chamber was echoing it, he couldn't quite place it, as he looked around: not hiding around him, behind him, above…

Slade whirled and slammed his sword up as Savior leapt off the wall and slashed down. Their blades met.

And Shimmer strands flew from Savior's knees in mid-air and slammed into Slade's face. He staggered back, as Savior bounced off from the blow. Slade immediately went on the attack again, but Savior just leapt away, bouncing off an ice chunk and leaping to the wall, as Shimmer strands dug into it and he rapidly spiderwalked (heh) across the icy surface of it.

His eye narrowed, and Slade gave chase, as he sprinted after Savior, leaping up and slashing for him, but Savior sprung off the wall towards the ground before Slade reached him, and even as Slade's sword dug into the ice Savior bounced off the ground at a severe angle and lanced back, one foot slamming into Slade's back and smashing him into the wall. Savior bounced off the impact and bounded away, as Slade landed, clutching his chest and glaring.

"Oh you think you're clever." Slade said, as he snatched up his sword and gave chase.

Savior didn't know about clever, but he thought he'd hit on something. Their previous battleground, on top of the ice tower, had been too wide and open for what Savior was doing now, but inside it, with the walls and the large amounts of ice junk lying around, Savior could bounce around like an out of control pinball.

And he aimed to score all his points off Slade, as he rapidly leapt from ice chunk to ice chunk, his limbs still aching but the pain muted by battle-fueled adrenaline, and then lanced at Slade, who slashed up his sword to meet him.

Savior stopped dead three feet from the assassin, his Shimmer having grabbed the ground, and as Slade tried to interrupt his current slash the Shimmer threw Savior to the side, where he bounced off another ice chunk and flew at Slade, slamming a punch across his face as he flew on, avoiding Slade's retaliatory slash as he bounced off another ice chunk and flew to the wall, where he rapidly scrambled around the room, keeping out of Slade's reach: without the shotgun he had no distance attacks and he apparently didn't want to risk a grenade in the chance the floor could give out again.

Slade gave no indication he was frustrated though, as he leapt away from a Shimmer lash and found himself near the center of the room, as Savior rapidly raced around the chamber, like a bat out of hell…

And then, with one final bounce off the wall, Savior leapt high into the air. For a moment Slade though he was going to jump out the hole in the top and run away.

Then the upward momentum stopped, and Savior fell down towards Slade.

Slade had a feeling he wasn't just going to try pouncing on him again…

And he was right, as Shimmer strands suddenly shot out from Savior's hands. But not at Slade.

They buried themselves in the ground on either side from Slade, several feet away from them so he couldn't just slash out and catch one.

Not that he had time, as the Shimmer strands yanked as hard as they could, sending Savior firing down at him like a meteor.

Savior's feet slammed into Slade's sword, and though Slade had stopped the blow he felt the impact slam through him, stunning him for half a second…

As Savior flipped off the impact and slammed both feet into Slade's back. Slade flew forward, crashing into an ice chunk and partially shattering it from the impact.

Savior lowered himself down to the ground, trying to hide the fact that his legs were so sore from that stunt he couldn't put weight on them.

Slade shoved himself off the ice chunk, turning around as he blinked a few times. Damn, he'd somewhat underestimated how much Savior had left. He hated when he did that, especially with children. Though the only children that had ever happened with was the Titans.

Always the Titans.

"I will give you compliments for that maneuver Collins, but that doesn't change how this will end." Slade said, as he brought his sword back up, his brain already adapting to Savior's bounce and strike style. "And believe me, it will end soon."

"You have no idea how right you are." Savior said, and leapt forward.

Slade ran to meet him, but only a step, stopping as he waited for Savior to abruptly switch directions.

And he did, via another hard yank that ricocheted him into an ice piece, and then across at another, then back the way he came, up to a wall, off the wall, off another ice chunk, off another, and then directly at Slade, Slade having followed each movement and preparing as he slashed out.

He was an almost perfect counter, except for one thing: Slade's blade strike was designed to catch Savior with an upper slash if he went for Slade's chest and head, or a lower one if he went for his knees.

Savior went for door number 3, Slade's waist, as he shot out a Shimmer strand. Slade felt it punch into his side, and he snarled and tried to adjust his slash, but it was too late as Savior bounced away from him, Slade feeling a hard yank…

And then a clatter of something metallic on the ice nearby.

Slade's eye quickly found it, and it widened when it did.

A pin.

Savior had activated one of his remaining grenades!

Savior landed nearby as Slade dropped his sword and pawed at his belt, trying to find which grenade had been armed, his fingers expertly feeling over them within a second and locating the activated one, as Slade yanked it off and hurled it…

It didn't exactly go off in Slade's face, but it was still far too close, as it sprayed Slade with shrapnel and hurled him backwards, as he crashed into the ice chunk he'd slammed into earlier and completely shattered it this time, as he landed on his back with a loud thud.

But he was swiftly up, his eye blazing with hate, where was that Collins, he would rip his heart out with his bare hands…

Slade found out.

Savior had started bouncing even before the grenade had gone off, and as Slade got up he landed on the wall behind Slade, and with as mighty a push he could muster he flew off.

Slade felt the impact in the back of his knee as Savior slammed a Shimmer strand into it, and even as Slade staggered Savior arrived himself, as he slammed his foot into the back of Slade's head and neck.

Slade pitched forward onto his hands and knees, falling among the shattered pieces of the ice chunk

As Savior flipped and landed in front of him, his back to Slade. No more playing around.

He twisted as he swung his leg out and then up, aiming his heel kick right for Slade's face…

As Slade reared up and rammed the dagger of ice he'd grabbed off the ground deep into Savior's leg.

"AAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYRRRRUUUIAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Savior shrieked, as he stumbled away, falling on his face as he agonized, reaching for his leg, finding the shard of ice buried straight into his heel, his leg feeling like it was going to explode…

"Heh. I felt the tendon snap." Slade said as he got up. "You put too much effort into impact, Collins, failed to cover your blind spot. I thought you knew better."

"RAAARRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Savior snarled as he yanked the shard out, the Shimmer rushing to staunch the blood flow.

"You just added unnecessarily to your pain Collins." Slade said, as he picked up his fallen sword. "Even if you try and brace yourself, you can barely manage to stand. Just stay down. It's over."

Savior made a few more whimpering cries…and then his eyes grew as hard as steel.

More Shimmer strands shot out, bracing Savior as he slowly stood…but it was clear his balance was tentative at best.

"Pain…is weakness…leaving the body." Savior said, as he snapped out his arm. His S4 returned. Slade arched an eyebrow. The Titan was going to try and keep fighting?…What should he have expected, after all. "And it's not, over yet, Slade."

"You really are foolish for someone who claims to be bright." Slade said.

"Pot, kettle, BLACK!" Savior yelled, as he surged forward, riding the Shimmer as he could no longer run, but he could still swing. Slade just chuckled to himself and brought his blade up.

The two slammed together, as the Titan and assassin dueled once more, but it was clear Slade wasn't putting everything he could into it, as he blocked and deflected all of Savior's attacks with one sword arm, as the two fought across the floor, their reflections dancing…

Slade dodged an upward slash by jumping back, whirled his sword around a bit, and then slashed out. Savior blocked in turn, and then, in an amazing move considering his severed Achilles' tendon, he whirled in mid-block, deflecting Slade's sword away from him and exposing his left flank, as Savior made a desperation lunge…

As Slade dropped his sword and dodged away, Savior going past Slade as Slade zipped back in and clamped his right arm down around Savior's own right one, as Savior's eyes went wide.

"Agony is what remains." Slade said, and broke Savior's arm so fiercely the bone punched through the skin. Savior howled in pain, and then Slade whirled a bit and slammed his left fist into Savior's face, throwing him to the ground, a wreck.

"You know, none of this is real." Slade said, as he picked up his sword. "You never recovered from what I did to you back in Los Angeles. You're still locked in some rubber room, tied up in a straightjacket, drooling on the ground while urine and feces accumulates within your diaper, utterly lost in the world you've dreamt for yourself because you could no longer face what a failure you were in reality. Except you're a failure in this one too, Collins. Time to wake up and smell the catatonia."

Savior could only stare, as slight tears leaked from his eyes from the pain…or maybe something else.

"You know the truth Collins. Accept it. Time to go into oblivion." Slade said.

The two looked at each other.

And then…Savior somehow managed a snicker.

"Maybe you shouldn't…tell me this is a world of my making Slade…" Savior said, as the Shimmer surged up around him and began pushing him back up. "Because if this is really…all inside my own head…then I'm damn sure not going to lose. And if it's reality as I know it, well…maybe the same can be said."

Slade chuckled himself.

"Your ability to deny amazes even myself, Collins. But even you have your limits. They are reached." Slade said. "Your right side is useless. Your left has its own grievous wounds. You've lost at least a pint of blood, and are one impact away from passing out from the pain. There are no more tricks or tactics you can use with your power to save yourself. What can you possibly give?"

Savior looked at Slade.

And then he held his left arm out, and once again, his S4 formed.

"More." Savior said. "Come on Slade. Aren't you still harboring the delusion I killed your son?"

"You WILL eat those words." Slade said calmly, and gestured with his sword.

And Savior attacked, a jerky, almost comical parody of himself, but he would not stop, as Slade effortlessly blocked his attacks, moving backwards only because he wanted to, as Savior stumbled after him, slashing desperately, as if hoping for a miracle, Slade blocking every swing with ease…

Until Savior finally did a half-hearted leap forward, trying to get past Slade's guard…

Slade slashed upward, knocking Savior's arm away, and then spun around as Savior fell to the ground, twirling his sword and then thrusting with it.

Savior's eyes widened as the end stabbed into his throat.

And stopped there, the tip just having barely pierced the skin.

Savior blinked.

"And that, Collins, is game." Slade said.

* * *

No one was coming to save Noel. 

Potent and Brick Wall still struggled against the unstoppable General, while the rest of the group waged a furious last stand as the OMAC's swarmed around them. And at the Tower, Superboy, Wonder Girl, and Donar fought their own OMAC's.

And Alexander Luthor looked upon the Earths in the rift before him with furious hate, enraged that he had been so hurt and interrupted.

"Was this YOUR doing, Superman?" Alexander growled, as he mentally expanded the void, his eyes hunting for his target. "I'll find Earth-2 again. I'll pull it back to my petri dish. And I'll crush…"

And Nightwing dove, swinging on his grapple line as he slammed into Alex Luthor, kicking him from his floating platform as Alexander went into free fall.

As Superboy finally pushed through the defenses and lashed out, hands sinking and tearing into golden metal.

"Hnnf." Alexander grunted as he hit the ground at the base of his Tower: what had happened? How could things go so bad so quickly? But it didn't matter, he was still in control, he…

"Alex." Came a voice, and Alexander turned to face it, the rage still etched in his face…

Which slackened as he saw it.

They were free.

His original keys, plugged into the Tower to help him with the first steps of his plan.

Breach from Earth-8.

Nightshade from Earth-4.

Lady Quark from Earth-6.

The Ray, his grandfather from Earth-X.

And Power Girl, from Earth-2, in the lead and looking as pissed as Alex was.

And they were all heading for him.

"You have a **_lot_** to answer for." Power Girl said, as they charged.

* * *

"Come on. Up." Slade said calmly, and Savior found himself getting to his feet (well, more like the Shimmer pushing and holding him up). He had no choice. 

Slade very carefully walked around Savior so he was standing in front of him, adjusting his wrist so his sword remained firm against the soft tissue of Noel's windpipe. They had almost reached the wall of the ice chamber they were in before Slade had claimed the final win, and Noel stood with his back to the ice.

"…All right then. You've won. Finish it." Noel said, trying to sound defiant. It didn't exactly work.

"Not yet Collins. There's one last thing you need to know." Slade said. "I know what you planned."

"…What?" Savior said.

"Come now Collins. You are not the only one to study his opponents inside and out. Attacking me by yourself? That simply is not you. And your words clenched it: you didn't have to win, you just had to see that I lost." Slade said. "I know what your power can do, Collins. With you…and apart from you. You thought that even if I beat you, killed you, it could emerge and avenge your death, letting it tear me apart. A very nice trick…but not one that would work on me, Noel. You should have known that."

"So what are you going to do? Leave me here, broken and humiliated, try again in ten years?" Savior snapped.

"No Collins. Like I said, I know what you are capable of, and I prepared accordingly." Slade said, and pressed a button on his sword.

Electricity immediately began to crackle on the blade, though it did not reach the tip or the hilt, as Savior's eyes widened again.

"Your power can resist electricity…but your power also comes from your nervous system. Those nerves use electricity to communicate. So I gathered that the insulation comes not from your power itself, but its surface. And using that information, I prepared myself." Slade said. "Even if you attack me now in one final gasp, you can't stop my blade from piercing your brain. Once it does, it will unleash a jolt of power so strong your tissues and nerves will be instantly overloaded and destroyed. This same jolt will also stun your talent, because its surface insulation will be irrelevant in there. This holt will render it useless for several minutes, and while it is helpless your dead nervous system will act like tar, dragging it down. By the time it revives itself, it will be trapped, unable to escape your body, where it will die…along with you. So even your final ploy is a failure, Collins. I do not use such words lightly. You have lost. In every way." Slade said.

It was truly a great sight to see hope dying in the eyes of a foe. Slade had seen it once with Savior, and now he got to see it again. Lovely.

"So Collins…here is your final gift: your last words. Pick them well."

"…'It is well that I die hard, but I am not afraid to go.'" Savior said, as he tried to match his face to the words. Slade chuckled again.

"George Washington. It figures. Even on the edge of death, you can't say anything original, instead choosing the words of others. That is quite a way to go." Slade said, as he began to push.

"…Mercy."

"What?" Slade said. "You want mercy?"

"If but for a few seconds. Let me try last words again. Please."

"…Let it not be said I am unnecessarily cruel." Slade said. "Come Collins. Make them good."

Savior slowly closed his eyes.

And then opened them again…and something was off. Slade narrowed his eye, just a bit. He seemed a bit more…at peace. Of course that could just be acceptance of death, but…

"…Heh." Savior said. "Funny. There are so many things I could say…but the only thing I can think of isn't original either."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Slade asked.

Savior chuckled again, and then opened his eyes wide as he glared at Slade.

"I WOULDN'T STAND THERE IF I WERE YOU."

The explosion erupted from the wall behind Savior, consuming him and Slade, and Slade found himself torn away before he could make the fatal push with his sword, hurled backwards, as he snarled and recovered, flipping to his feet and crouching as he prepared himself, ice chunks scattering around him…

And then his eye widened.

Dark power, pulsing and glow, where Savior had once been.

Power that swiftly drew away.

"…No." Slade said.

* * *

Great power, granted by a mother's final gift. 

An artifact, made by her fellows, the essence of them, able to call to them, find them, let them know…bring them together.

And a beacon…and there is no greater then a loved one's pain.

As Raven drew back her cloak to let the Titans out, as they stood before Slade, all called by Raven, her warping talents greatly enhanced and put to good use.

The Titans were together again.

"Hello Slade." Robin said as he pulled out his staff. "We'd like a word."

* * *

_Next:_

_The Titans._

_Slade._

_Their final battle._

_Nuff said._


	9. War: Smells Like Teen Spirit

War, Part 4: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Earth-2.

"…So…anyone have any idea of just what happened?" Wildcat asked, as he looked around. A few scant moments ago, he had been watching the Elementals seemingly being mashed together with other people, while reality seemed to melt around them…and then suddenly things had snapped back to normal, and they were back in Keystone City.

As for the Elementals…results varied. Rocko had completely collapsed into a pile of unmoving stone, Scorched was sitting on her rear looking dazed, Floral was actually standing over her calling her 'Mommy', and Zippy seemed least affected, though she was holding her head.

And the Air Elemental was down on the ground, its strange body of wind and motion barely visible in its unconscious state. Apparently its lack of substance meant it hadn't handled the forced merger as well as the other Elementals: Scorcher was already getting up.

"I think…that was the second most unpleasant experience in my life." Scorcher said.

"Really? What was the first?" Sand asked.

"That would be when her freak boyfriend died in her arms. My doing, I'm afraid. But he had it coming." Came the voice of the Scientist, and everyone's head jerked towards the villain, forgotten in the chaos…and he was taking advantage by running for his life.

"It's been fun! We must do it again soon!" The Scientist said, one hand on his waist as he ran backwards, preparing to activate his personal defense shield: once he had it up he'd be untouchable and easily able to escape. "But he who fights and runs away, lives to win another day! And he who laughs last…!" The Scientist said as he turned around.

Right into a metal fist.

The blow rang through the air as Platinum Blonde leveled the Scientist, who had delayed too long in activating his shield. He crashed down on the ground a dozen feet away.

"Thanks slowest." Platinum Blonde said. "You know, I never got you Scientist. Such a big brain, such remarkable intelligence, and what do you use it to do? Torment others. Like us. How can someone so smart be SO STUPID?"

The Scientist groaned…and then vines lined with sharp thorns suddenly sprang up from the ground and over him, digging into his skin but not piercing it, a very strong incentive not to struggle. He tried a bit anyway, as he cranked his head back and found himself looking at the upside down face of Scorcher, her features tight with barely restrained rage.

"You killed Henry. I should burn you where you lie…but I won't Scientist. When this is all over I'll let the system punish you. Because the day we sink to your level is the day we may as well give everything up. As long as you're around, there's something worth fighting for. Including YOU, until you finally end up in oblivion." Scorcher said.

And then a large pebble dropped on the Scientist's forehead, knocking him cold before he could reply.

"Amen." Rocko said, her form still very slipshod but in better shape then it had been before. "Magic seems to be a bit more stabilized. Maybe for good now."

"Speaking of magic…Antoinette?" Scorcher said, as the French Elemental walked up to them, pulling the bandages off her face…her normal, undamaged face, no longer smashed to ruin from a devastating punch.

"Anniewhattheheckyouwerebadlyhurtwhat'sgoingon…" Zippy said as she ran around.

"Was I hurt? Last thing I remember was gathering for that fight…and then I woke up and found the Scientist running towards me. I think I'm the one who should be asking what's going on."

"You got me." Scorcher replied.

"Um…" Sophie piped up, as everyone looked at her. "I have a theory…"

"Spill it."

"Well…it looked like some force attempted some kind of, well, combination of this planet with another one, and those who had counterparts on the other planet were almost merged in turn. But something interrupted the merger, and when it came apart both sides were, well, snapped back to their natural state. So I'm guessing Platinum Blonde was, well, reset in some way. Hence no more injury to her face."

"My face? They hurt my face? Thank god for this reset." Platinum Blonde said, rubbing her cheek.

"Oh please, even if there'd be no reset you'd have gotten by on other assets." Rocko said. Platinum Blonde punched him in retaliation, as the Justice Society members approached as well.

"Well miss, you say this was a forced merger…you think it will happen again?" Jay Garrick asked.

"…I don't know Mr. Garrick. I'm just taking things as they come. I have no idea if I'm right or what's around the corner." Sophie said as she looked out onto the many Earths in the sky. She wondered where Scalpel was, if he was alive…and if he was, if he was going to die. In a situation like this, he'd fight until his heart gave out. And that might not be much longer.

She sensed it was coming to a climax.

"Well then. Lacking any idea of what's coming, what should we do?" Wildcat asked.

"…Pray." Scorcher said.

"To who?"

"To any gods that might be listening." Scorcher said, as she and her family looked up onto the Multiverse, wondering if it would be the last great sight of her life.

* * *

Earth-1.

"…Titans." Slade said as he stood fully upright, his sword as his side. "And to think I thought I'd see this day end without seeing you."

"We had some other tasks to handle. But for you Slade, we'll always make time." Robin said, his bo-like staff fully extending as Robin spun it under his arm, his team spreading out around him. The voice they had all heard had been Raven's, calling to them, whispering that she could bring them to the place where they were needed most…and then opening portals that had taken the Titans there, pulling Robin and Co from Detroit even as it carried away Starfire and Cyborg an instant before the backlash from the combined attack in space would have struck them, as Raven, using herself as a guide, had reached out and seized on Noel as a beacon. The fact that he had been confronting Slade was just coincidence…or fate. But as Raven had found Noel, even as she pulled her fellow Titans along with him, she had found Slade by default, and warned them all. Thus, not only had they arrived, they had arrived ready.

For a moment, Slade almost told them that this world didn't have much time left…but he didn't.

Because he recognized the sentence for what it was: an excuse. While the Titans and he held a deep grudge, the sense of responsibility that drove them would quickly turn them away if they felt he was the lesser of two evils. And if they left, Slade could withdraw and more properly prepare himself for such a fight.

But in Slade's mind, he'd never be able to rid himself of the underlying reason for such a tact: he was retreating.

To contemplate such a thing made him realize he had to consider the Titans a grave threat, possibly even one that could do him in…and Slade Wilson would not accept such thoughts, especially when it came to these children.

True, they were skilled, they were powerful, they were determined, and they did not compromise. In them, Slade saw much of himself.

But they were still children. And Slade would not flee from children. He would show them their place: at his feet, their respected elder. If he had to, he'd send them all to early graves to do it.

"So you would rather all die then let your foolish teammate pay for his mistake?" Slade asked as he raised the sword.

"No one's dying today Slade." Robin said.

"We're going to settle this." Cyborg added.

"Once, and for all." Starfire said.

Slade chuckled again, as the Titans spread out a bit more.

"So, you wish this to be it?"

"It WILL be it." Scalpel replied.

"Then so be it." Slade said, as he slipped his hand under a section of his shoulder armor and pressed a button. He swiftly pressed buttons located on his wrists as well, and then stabbed his sword into the ground as he reached for his belt.

"What's he going?" Terra asked, as Slade removed two large canisters. They weren't grenades, they were…

Slade hit a button on both, and they popped open.

And they came, a swarming mass of black and gray, surging from the canisters as Slade dropped them on the ground, as they swirled around him, as his eye narrowed.

"What the…" Robin said, even as Cyborg's eyes completed their scans and it widened.

"Oh crap! Neurological-reactive combat nanomachines!" Cyborg said.

"Titans, get ready!" Robin said, as all the Titans around him assumed combat poses.

"It ends, as you wish, Robin. You and your Titans have caused me nothing but grief. And sweet is a grief well ended!" Slade said, as the nanomachines swarmed around his arms…and formed into a giant machine gun. "DIE!"

Bullets exploded through the room, as the Titans scattered away from the shots, even as Raven waved her hand and formed a black dome over her and Noel that the bullets ricocheted off of, slamming into the ice as Raven dispelled the shield.

Despite his immense pain, Noel found himself chuckling.

"And just when I think I rolled a snake eyes…my dice did one last turn and one came up five." Noel said.

Raven slapped her lover, jerking his head to the side.

"You saw our future child, and you endangered her existence by doing something as stupid as attacking Slade alone? How could you?" Raven snapped.

"…Heh. Maybe the fact I had a child had something to do with it…maybe I just knew today wasn't my day…"

"Don't speak so soon." Raven said, as she turned: despite the incredible power her mother had given her, warping all her teammates, including two across interstellar distances, to save Noel had once again drained her severely: she couldn't even muster the power to heal Savior's injuries. So she settled for kneeling near him, watching, letting herself rest.

She had brought her team here. It was up to them.

And she knew absolutely none of them would let her down.

As Robin swung down from his leap and whacked Slade's machine gun aside…as Slade flipped backwards, even as Nigel's glaive buried itself where Slade had been, as the master assassin flipped away, his machine gun exploding back into a swarming mass of nanomachines again, as he came back to his feet.

Nigel hit the ground and sprang forward, grabbing up his glaive as Robin joined him at his side, as Slade landed, yanked his sword out of the ground, even as the nanomachines formed a twin blade and he brought both before him.

Sparks flew as the weapons clashed, as Slade battled his opponents, the glaive and staff slamming into his swords, as the two Titans pressed forward, their weapons blurring around them as Slade matched their duel offense with a peerless defense…

And turned it around, as he slammed both weapons around Nigel's glaive and abruptly shifted its motion, slamming it into the ground, and as Robin stabbed his staff Slade whirled away from the blow and brought his foot in a roundhouse motion down on it, slamming the staff down onto the glaive as Nigel was about to lift it, as Slade's foot flashed off the weapons and buried itself in Nigel's throat, and then snapped over and smashed Robin across the face, both Titans reeling away from the blows as Slade leapt back again…

A sonic cannon blast and a flurry of Starbolts slammed into the ground where he had just been, and even as he landed a green jaguar pounced on him, but Slade went with the motion and abruptly jerked forward in a deep lean, turning Beast Boy's momentum against him as he slid over Slade and landed on the ground, a moment before Slade buried a fierce kick into his ribs, knocking the wind and a meowing whine from Beast Boy's throat as Slade spun up a blade and lanced it down, Beast Boy dodging as he turned into a mouse, as Slade immediately abandoned the attack and flipped away again as another rain of Starbolts slammed into the ground where he had been, even as Starfire flew to the side and took aim again, Cyborg mirroring her on the ground…

"Starfire! Cyborg! Be careful!" The voice said, not in the air but in their heads, as the two stopped and glanced over to Noel, who was holding onto Raven, using her to project his thoughts. "Be cautious with blasting! This chamber isn't the most stable location."

Cyborg looked back at Starfire, and then gave her a thumbs up, even as he turned and seized a giant chunk of ice, lifting it up, even as Gauntlet landed nearby and also gave Cyborg an affirmative signal.

Robin was back on the attack, clashing with Slade's duel blades, and getting nowhere he leapt away, sending twin Birdarangs swirling at his mortal enemy. Slade slashed them from the air…

And Cyborg hurled the massive ice chunk skyward, as Gauntlet leapt, seized it with gauntlet power, and hurled it in a way that would have done Cy Young proud, the ice striking the ground before Slade and hurling him backwards as it pelted him with shrapnel, as he lost his normal sword and his nanosword exploded back into a swirling insectoid mass.

And then Starfire was there, swinging her fist. Slade blocked it, but the impact clearly hit home, his block barely holding.

"Perhaps you forget, but I am no slouch in the hand to hand, Slade, and as you are surely realizing, my strength is considerably higher then yours!" Starfire yelled as she shoved through the block and repeatedly punched, forcing Slade back to avoid the full power of the blows…a strategy that cost him anyway as Starfire lunged forward and slammed her palm into his chest, and even as he agonized she swooped back and slashed out her foot.

Slade ducked backwards under her roundhouse kick, and as he reared back up the nanomachines clustered around his right fist and he lashed out.

"Not this time alien!" Slade yelled, slamming his fist into Starfire and sending her flying backwards with a yell. "These devices are top of the line. Weapons, enhancements, anything I can muster…I was going to save them if I needed to humble any fools who wanted to stop me from controlling the reformed Society but I think this way is far more satisfying."

"Enjoy it then!"

And then Cyborg crashed down near Slade, the assassin having dodged to the side to avoid his punch, as Cyborg went after Slade.

"I'm not so easy to knock around!" Cyborg yelled, as he fired off more punches…and watched to his horror as Slade grabbed one hand, then another, stopping him dead.

"What? Surprised your electronic attempts to disable them have met in failure? You disappoint me Cyborg. One of the first things I collected was the schematics from Blood…"

Cyborg slammed his head forward, ramming it into Slade's mask: using his head one way to deal with Slade's nanomachines had met in failure, so he'd just use it another way and deal with Slade himself, as he slammed his knee into Slade's torso, then his other knee, and as Slade recoiled Cyborg reversed the grip on his hands and yanked backwards, hurling Slade over him…

Only to find Slade reversing his momentum and landing behind Cyborg, in a perfect bridge, their hands still locked, as Cyborg found himself looking upside down into Slade's face, as the nanomachines swarmed around Slade's body…

And gave him the strength to lift himself straight up using just his legs and hurl Cyborg over his head. He flew through the air and slammed into a wall, falling down to the floor with a loud crash as several hundred pounds of ice broke off and fell towards the teen machine…

And stopped, encased in black power, as Cyborg shook his head, looked up, and then rolled aside, the ice crashing down where he had been, as Raven moaned and collapsed into Savior's arms.

"Not easy…" She whispered.

Even as Raven saved her teammate, a green triceratops was charging at Slade's side, but Slade just leapt and flipped over the giant dinosaur, as Beast Boy crashed through several ice chunks before stopping, shaking his head.

"Gar! You ok?" Terra asked.

"Yeah…Tara, are you?" Beast Boy asked, as he realized Terra had not done anything in the battle. Terra raised her hands helplessly.

"There's no rocks! Nowhere nearby! It's all ice! I can't find anything to control!"

"HAHHHHHHHH!" Starfire yelled as she swooped in and punched Slade across the face, throwing him to the side.

"All right, just stay back then!" Beast Boy said, as he turned into a hawk and took to the air.

Slade leapt and came down near the wall, and then Starfire flew in, bouncing off the wall and then a chunk of ice as she lashed out, kicking him backwards. Slade flipped to recover, only to find Scalpel landing in front of him and charging in, as Scalpel lashed up his foot, slicing up across Slade's chest before slashing it down in an axe kick, cutting another wound as Scalpel stepped in even as he finished the kick and leapt, flipping backwards and kicking Slade under the chin, throwing him back farther. Slade stopped as Scalpel landed, bringing his glaive to bear and charging.

The nanosword formed again, and Slade blocked the blow, as Scalpel bore down on him, using his immense strength even as he snarled into his face.

"Not bad…not good either!" Slade snapped even as he snapped backwards, his nanosword exploding again as Slade went under Nigel's guard and punched him, throwing him backwards several steps as the nanomachines reformed into a submachine gun that Slade seized and opened fire with, forcing Scalpel to dive for cover…

Even as Starfire came in from the side again and slammed into Slade, tackling him, and even as Slade's feet left the ground Starfire pulled herself up as she leveraged a foot against Slade's chest and pushed, slamming him downward and into the ice with a thunderous cracking noise as she flew up and on…

As Slade flipped off from the impact, his gun instantly breaking down and reforming, and even as Starfire turned around he snapped out his new weapon and fired…a grenade launcher, as Starfire's eyes widened.

The explosion consumed her, her cry echoing around the room.

"STARFIRE!" Robin yelled, and charged in again, even as Starfire's wounded body fell from the cloud of smoke and Slade took aim again…

Robin slammed the weapon aside, and the grenade went wide, flying away from Starfire, across the room…and exploding against the ice directly above Savior and Raven, as the two looked up.

"Oh fiddlesticks." Savior said.

The wall partially collapsed, and the rubble bore down on the pair, as Raven raised her hands and sent out her power, the ice becoming encased in black…and then falling anyway as her power broke, her body too drained…

The ice buried them both, tons of it crashing down on their forms.

And perhaps denoting the intensity of the battle, no one noticed, as Slade leapt away from Robin's attack and snatched up his lost normal sword, transforming his grenade launcher back into another sword as Robin attacked again, extending his staff out even more as he swiped for Slade's legs, but Slade swiftly dodged and was ready when Robin zoomed in close, spinning his staff around him as the two weapons clashed.

Robin did a split to avoid one sword slash as it cleaved through another ice chunk and then rolled and flipped backwards to avoid a stab, as he landed, flexed his knees, and leapt forward again. His staff slammed into Slade's crossed swords, but Robin was ready and kicked off the assassin, flying some distance away as Slade recoiled from the blow. Robin landed, and Cyborg came to his side, as the two glanced at each other.

And then Robin was hurling his explosive disc, as Cyborg snapped out his sonic cannon and fired after it.

As Slade formed a laser cannon from his collective nanomachines and fired his own blast.

The interrupted Sonic Boom exploded through the room, catching both Titan and villain as Robin and Cyborg were hurled through chunks of ice and Slade was thrown backwards, albeit in more control then the Titans as he flipped and landed…and then Gauntlet was there, swinging a yellow energy frying pan.

Slade deflected it away and spun away from Gauntlet, switching from laser cannon back to sword, as Gauntlet then tried his equivalent of a sack filled with nickels, then a rolling pin, and then finally just a generic fist…that Slade leapt off of and kicked Gauntlet in the face for, driving him backwards.

"It always amazed me, that even with your friends dying around you, you continue to play the fool." Slade said, as Gauntlet leapt for him, as Slade slashed for the energy…only to find it splitting and reforming around the slash, as Gauntlet's blow slammed into Slade and threw him backwards, HARD, as he slammed into a wall…and then pushed off it and lanced back, stabbing for Gauntlet's head.

Yellow energy grabbed Slade in mid air, as the two hit the ground and tumbled a bit…before Gauntlet grabbed ahold of said ground and hurled himself high into the air, still holding Slade.

"You know Wilson, if you actually study the works of Shakespeare, you'll find a recurring theme: the fool always speaks the truth." Gauntlet said. "I'm the good guy. You're the bad guy."

As Gauntlet then did a tight spin and hurled Slade towards the ground.

"DO THE MATH!"

Slade hit with another intense impact, but his battle-hardened body, protected by the best in armor and the nanomachines, shrugged it off much better then a normal human would, as he leapt away as Gauntlet slammed down where he had just been, as he reformed his sword into a sub-machine gun and opened fire at point-blank range, the nature of his weapon negating any need for a clip, as Gauntlet was driven backwards, his artifact still damaged and not in the best of shape, as the bullets slammed into his shield in an intense barrage and finally forced him behind some ice to recover…

As a green gorilla dropped from the sky and slammed into Slade, knocking him to the ground.

But his nanomachines couldn't be removed from him like a normal gun could, and hence Beast Boy was forced to leap off and turn into a cat to flee as Slade fired at him, rolling back up…

The Birdarang bit into his shoulder, and he snarled and turned as he saw Robin hurling more at him, even as Cyborg charged at him.

Submachine gun returned to sword, as Slade had somehow held onto his normal sword the whole time, as he slashed the Birdarangs out of the air. Cyborg closed in, swinging his fist, but Slade blocked the blow with his nanoblade and shoved Cyborg away, kicking him in the side even as he continued to slash away Birdarangs. Cyborg leapt in again, swinging around and kicking with the heel of his foot, a blow that Slade blocked again. This time he was staggered though, even as Cyborg moved in, ducking and weaving like a boxer, as Slade's blades met his fists, Slade fending off the attackers as he tried to switch tactics…

And then Cyborg got through, flooring Slade with a punch to the ribs. Slade flew, but like always he flipped over in mid-flight and landed on his feet, sliding on the ice somewhat before stopping.

He did not hesitate in his next move, as he immediately leapt forward to slash at Cyborg: at farther range Slade was open to the sonic cannon, he had to close the range…

Unfortunately, Cyborg had the same idea, as jets opened from his legs and back and he dashed forward, and as Slade's eyes widened Cyborg managed to slip right under the leaping assassin.

As he turned around and punched him, turning his leap into a crash as he hit the ground.

As a green wolf jumped on him and dug his teeth into his calf. Slade yelled and lashed out, kneeing the wolf in the head and knocking him away, as Slade slashed and barely avoided cutting off one of Beast Boy's feet as he scampered away, as Slade flipped back up.

Robin flew through the air, his staff slashing down. Slade blocked it with a sword…only to find the blow sliding off as Robin went with the move, landed, ducked, and thrust out a foot at an upward angle, catching Slade in the chest and knocking him backwards. Slade righted himself even as Robin's hand blurred and another spray of Birdarangs flew at Slade. Slade began slashing them from the air, and then sensing movement from behind he leapt to the side as he barely avoided Cyborg, as Slade landed, his nanosword shifting into a shotgun that he gave both barrels to the half-robot teen, the nature of the weapon letting him fire it one handed without losing any of the kick that slammed into Cyborg, knocking him down, even as Slade switched back to the sword and leapt at Robin, who blocked Slade's slash with his staff and whirled away, and as Slade pursued Robin stopped, then moved with precise timing as he zipped back to avoid Slade's sword, and even as it hit the ground he moved forward, stepping up and on the blade as he ran up and leapt over Slade, and as Slade turned around Robin landed and fired off a reverse roundhouse kick that sent Slade flying backwards, this time landing on his side.

Robin spun his staff around, and as Slade pushed himself up he leapt through the air.

His eye narrowing to the slit, Slade slid his normal sword into the side sheath as his nanosword exploded and flowed to both hands, turning into twin handguns that Slade opened fire with on Robin, as Robin, forced to abort his leap, spun his staff to defend himself as he landed and flipped away…

As Beast Boy leapt from behind Slade, a gigantic tiger…

Slade's backhand slammed into Beast Boy's upper face, Slade somehow avoiding the teeth, stopping the leap's forward momentum as pain interrupted Beast Boy's concentration, as he started to fall…

As Slade brought his hands down, his nanoblade reforming, as he spun it and jerked it back.

The sound of metal going through flesh filled the whole room, plunging it into silence.

The shock was so great Beast Boy lost concentration, turning back to human form, as he stopped and stared down at the sword sticking out of his chest.

As blood, his blood, slowly began to leak from the wound, dripping down onto the cold, hard ice.

* * *

Some people theorize that had the United States not entered World War II, Germany would have eventually conquered the world. But some well versed military strategists believed that even if the United States had stayed out and Germany had conquered Britain, it would have eventually lost anyway to the Soviet Union, simply due to the fact that when the war began, the Soviet Union had disassembled all the factories facing Europe and moved them all the way across the country, setting them up as far away from the Germans as possible. This, combined with the fact that German progress with nuclear warfare was often far less then believed, allowed military minds to see a Soviet victory by attrition, forcing Germany to build incredibly long and vulnerable supply lines in the most hostile weather on Earth, a fact that may have eventually combined with the Soviet Union's sheer numbers to bring down Hitler's Third Reich.

Whether this would have happened is a matter of much debate that most likely can never be settled. The theory from it is simply this: sometimes even the most skilled warriors can crack and break under the weigh of numbers.

The Titans had smashed and disabled thousands of OMAC's, but thousands still remained: the way they had backed off in order to avoid engaging the villains had given the false impression their numbers were thinning: now the villains were beaten or had fled, and the OMAC's had returned, attacking from all angles. Boxing the heroes in. Heroes already tired and worn from their efforts.

But none of them were giving up the ghost yet.

"Hahhhhhhhhhh…" Nightmare growled, as she called upon the shadows and formed a pair of chakrams. "Burn!" She yelled, as she hurled off her weapons, blazing with black flame, as they bounced and tore through several OMAC's, coming back to her hands.

"Here's a memo: you can't beat me! Got it MEMORIZED?" Mary taunted. "That's 54 for me!"

"Please, I'm at 81!" Kyra yelled as she formed a squad of tanks and blasted apart another group of OMAC's. "88!"

"Oh you cheater! You're fudging your numbers!"

"Says you!"

"EXA-ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mary screamed as twin OMAC's hit her with beams of solar power, blowing holes in her.

"Mary! I got your back!" Kyra said, as she swooped it and blew away the two OMAC's with a blast of force. "You ok?"

"Can't go…much longer…"

"Yeah, feeling's mutual. Where's that no-good boytoy of yours?"

A gigantic crashing noise sounded, and the next thing Kyra knew Potent was flying at her, as Kyra caught him in a giant baseball glove.

"Speak of the devil." Kyra said. "Say EJ, why don't…"

"BACK OFF!" Potent yelled, as he pulled himself free and leapt off in the distance, and Kyra saw him come slashing down on the General, who looked considerably fresher then Potent had been. Kyra thought she saw Brick too, getting up from a fall, before OMAC's cut her field of vision off.

"Leave it to the men to hog the last villain." Kyra said, and formed a wicked-looking glaive. "Watch Mary, I can even use your own weapon better then you!"

"Oh you…!"

Ragnarok sent a blast of fire against an OMAC, and then threw up a shield of darkness as several more tried to blast him. His arms tingled strangely again, and he withdrew about 20 feet so he could finally concentrate on his visor and take a look at just what that effect was.

Scorched Earth, in the vein of his mother, was raining down Scorch Bolts on more OMAC's, and even as he did Metatron jumped over him and added a few of his own blasts. Scorched Earth frowned as the demon landed nearly.

"Are you suggesting I couldn't handle this myself?"

"Buddy, NONE of us could…" Metatron said.

The OMAC's descended from the sky, as a rain of small orbs fell before them. Scorched Earth and Metatron looked at each other, and then they both ran for it.

The explosions were mighty, forcing both of the Titans to take to the air…but Metatron had one problem Scorched Earth did not: he needed wings to fly.

And that finally cost him, as an OMAC flew from the smoke and fired a piercing energy blast from his hand, blowing a ragged hole in one of Metatron's wings as he fell to the ground with a scream.

"Adam! Are you all right?" Yin said as he stretched over.

Metatron let out a violent roar and blew away another OMAC over Yin's shoulder.

"This is why…I really hate…having wings…" Metatron said as he folded them back up.

"You want me to get…" Was as far as Yin got before another group of five OMAC's came in blasting from the side, and the two were forced on the defensive, Metatron fighting through the pain and using it as fuel for his rage.

Hex flipped over to where Ragnarok was standing, still looking at his visor.

"Hey! Bad time to surf!" Hex said, as she concentrated hex power in her arms and then zapped four OMAC's at a distance, as she lowered her arms, panting. Who'd have thought she'd have so much misfortune within her? Maybe it had something to do with the world she came from.

"Huh?" Ragnarok said, as he lifted his visor. "…Oh. Right. Surf. Like I'm on the net."

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Um…I'm performing a head count…where's Savior?"

"Don't know, don't care!" Hex said, as she flipped away to lend a hand to Metatron and Yin.

Ragnarok wondered why he hadn't told the truth.

Then he realized it probably didn't matter.

The battle was just as fierce around the Golden Tower: most of Alexander Luthor's 'keys' may have been freed, but there were more then enough OMAC's to give them attention, as well as the original four of Superboy, Wonder Girl, Donar, and Nightwing.

Only one hero was focusing on the mastermind: Power Girl, as she smashed two OMAC's aside to get at Alexander Luthor, as he tried to stumble away. Her eyes glowed red.

"Where's my cousin!" She yelled as she fired blistering beams of heat vision at Alex, blowing up the ground beneath him in a rage. "Where's Lois!"

Alexander clenched his fist as purplish energy erupted on it.

"They are no longer needed alive." He replied coldly, and thrust out his hand. "And neither are any of **_you_**."

The blast of positive energy slammed into Power Girl and threw her backwards, her outfit slightly singed. But the point of the blast quickly became apparent, as OMAC's quickly swarmed her, cutting her off from Alexander as she was forced to fight her way free…a fight that swiftly became harder after three of them blasted her with kryptonite rays. In agony, she counter-attacked, tearing into the OMAC's with the fury only certain women could muster.

Alexander didn't care: out of sight, out of mind. He found his floating platform, having called it back down as he'd tried to escape from Power Girl's wrath, and he swiftly used it to pull himself back up the Tower, keeping an eye out for Nightwing this time. He was engaged, and so Alexander returned to his rift unmolested.

Not that it mattered: his 'work environment' as it were had gone to hell. And he and the Tower were linked. If he couldn't focus on what he was doing…

He'd just have to drown it out, as his eyes went to the void again, trying to find Earth-2, the pain where his right index finger had once been a strong motivation.

But it wasn't enough to drown it all out: the noise, the explosions, the smells, everything conspired to interrupt him. And he was running out of time.

He grit his teeth and got to work.

* * *

You could almost hear each individual blood drop as it fell and struck the ground, ringing through the air like a bell, as Slade stood there, almost stock still, his blade still impaled through Beast Boy.

"And suddenly you seem to realize it." Slade said. "You teenagers always were fools. What did you think this was, a game? Some kind of trifle for your amusement? This is life, AND DEATH. And that is how they will all end."

"Guh…" Beast Boy said.

And the silence exploded.

"GAR NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Cyborg screamed, on his hands and knees from where he was getting up, as Robin broke from the paralysis he was in as the rage came over him, and he screamed a wordless sound and charged at Slade, staff out. Slade's eye narrowed once more as he came.

"You let your feelings overtake you!" Slade said as he drew his normal sword from his sheath, still holding Beast Boy behind him as he parried Robin's swipe, easily blocking Robin's mad swings. "Let it blind and lessen your abilities! You have to learn to grow up, Robin!" Slade said, as he ducked under Robin's roundhouse swing and lashed out, arcing his foot up as he slammed it into Robin's face in a powerful thrust kick, throwing Robin backwards as he crashed over the top of an ice chunk.

"Not that you will. A pity, you might have learned to pay attention. This isn't a game." Slade, and then his eye widened in turn, as he heard the sonic of Cyborg's sonic cannon powering up.

"YOU'RE DEAD YOU SON OF A…!" Cyborg bellowed.

Slade whirled and threw his normal sword with an unerring eye. It crashed through the metallic side of Cyborg's head.

"ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Cyborg screamed, reeling backwards as his sonic cannon fired off and went wide, slamming into the wall above Slade, firing into the air, and then tearing down and across the wall behind Cyborg as he fell, as the whole ice tower shuddered, and then began to break apart, as the wall behind Cyborg collapsed under the damage done to it, breaking off and falling outward towards the ground, crashing down on the snow below.

"Still haven't improved the armor on that side I see." Slade said, as he finally turned around to face Beast Boy, still limp on his sword. "My, you still draw breath. Your small frame holds considerable strength."

Slade yanked the sword out as he grabbed Beast Boy by the shoulder, the blood falling off the nanoblade as it disassembled and reformed into a handgun, as Slade aimed it at Beast Boy's head.

"But that's won't matter."

The arm grabbed his and yanked it aside as the gun blared, shooting past Beast Boy's ear, as a small fist slammed into the side of Slade's head, and as Slade let Beast Boy go to see who was attacking him another hit him in the face, though it barely staggered him.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Terra yelled, as she tried another punch.

Slade caught her hand.

"Ah, my would-be apprentice."

Slade's kick threw Terra backwards with a gasping scream, and as she hit the ground Slade's gun, having gone back to nanomachines when he'd been blindsided (who'd have though Terra could catch him off guard), reformed into a refined handgun as Terra got up, her eyes wide with fear.

"We could have done so much together." Slade said. "Instead, you're just another victim."

The handgun blazed, the bullets slamming into Terra's frail form, throwing her backwards in an agonized stumble…

As she ran out of room. A minute ago she would have hit the wall, but Cyborg's errant blast had blown off one whole section of the ice structure. There was no more wall.

Her scream echoed once more as she fell off the edge and into thin air, disappearing from Slade's view.

"Goodbye, child."

And then Slade flipped away as Nigel's glaive slammed down on the floor where Slade had been, as the snarling alien drove him away from Beast Boy.

"Gar! Hang on!" Scalpel said as he knelt by the changeling. "I'll…"

And then Scalpel snarled again and brought his glaive up as Slade came crashing down with his nanoblade, barely blocking the blow.

"This is not a hospital alien! I suggest you worry about your own life then the last remnants of his!" Slade taunted, even as he flipped away. Scalpel's eyes darted back and forth between Slade and Beast Boy: he couldn't leave Gar here but if he tried Slade would just keep attacking, if he didn't just form a gun and shoot Scalpel in the back, he had…

He had to fight. He couldn't help.

"…Oh Gar…forgive me…" Scalpel said, as he gripped his glaive tightly.

Slade saw the alien's muscles tensing, and he quickly leapt to the side, his nanosword shifting into some kind of hand weapon…a taser, as he came down near where Cyborg was trying to recover and slammed it into him, drawing another scream as thousands of volts slammed through Cyborg's systems, rendering him helpless and smoking. Slade retrieved his normal sword as Scalpel reared up and leapt for him again. Slade dodged with another backwards leap, as Scapel's glaive scoured another wound in the ice where Slade had been.

"Victor…" Scalpel said, looking at Cyborg's motionless body. Beast Boy, Terra, Cyborg…

NO MORE.

"RARRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Scalpel bellowed, as he lanced through the air.

Slade seemed more amused then anything, as he flipped backwards and, with a mighty leap, sprang high into the air, his taser exploding into a nanomachine swarm even as more machines flew from his body armor to add to the mass, forming a giant gun over Slade's shoulder, as he aimed and fired, a spray of six mini-missiles flying towards Nigel.

Scalpel's eyes narrowed to slits, as his claws tensed hard on his glaive.

Slade was starting back towards the ground as he saw it.

Scalpel's speed and technique were extraordinary, as he slashed out with his glaive, the weapon a blur, as he somehow swatted every missile out of the air, avoiding the pressure trigger warheads despite the small size of the weapons, as they all flew to the side, crashing and exploding against the ice walls, as they groaned and began breaking apart more, the glass shape of the battlefield beginning to turn back into the wide area that Slade and Savior had battled in.

Scalpel landed.

And the bullet exploded through him. He screamed and collapsed.

"It's not the ones you avoid, it's the ones you don't." Slade said, looking over the smoking gun.

Scalpel coughed, jerked…and then got back up, his glaive before him.

"Then it's a good thing I finally switched to bulletproof clothing!" Scalpel snarled, and charged in, as Slade's eye widened, and then narrowed as his nanogun turned back into a sword and he prepared himself for Scalpel's attack.

* * *

Metatron pounced on the OMAC, ripping its chest apart, and then turned and blasted another into submission, as he hunched over, panting and looking for his next opponent.

Right as he saw the ice tower explode off in the distance, giant pieces of the frozen monolith collapsing towards the ground. It drew Metatron's eye, because it hadn't been destroyed by any type of outward attack he had seen. So what had destroyed it…

"Hey!" Ragnarok said as he dropped down nearby. "You all right?"

"Well I…" Metatron said, distracted: he could see movement up there, where the explosion had been, but it was too far away to make out details…for his eyes. "Hey Collin! You have a binocular option on those goggles right?"

"Uh yeah…"

"Scan in! Who's up there? I got your back!" Metatron said, as he turned and blasted down two more OMAC's, as Ragnarok stared for a bit, then did as Metatron had asked.

"…Holy glomp, I think the Titans are up there." Ragnarok said.

"What?" Metatron said. "You mean this timeline's Titans? Up there? When they could…"

"Slade." Ragnarok said. Metatron went silent. "Slade's up there too. He's fighting with them."

Ragnarok pulled his visor back up as he looked at Adam, whose hands had clenched into fists. He knew why. In his timeline Slade had done Metatron and those he had dared to love a lot of wrongs.

"…Go." Ragnarok said.

"You're sure? Even if I could get my hands on the bastard I don't want…"

"Don't worry about it." Ragnarok said, as he slipped his visor back down.

"…Thanks." Metatron said, as he slapped Ragnarok on the shoulder in a comradely way. "See you in a bit."

"…Yeah." Ragnarok said, as Metatron took off across the ice, heading for the tower.

* * *

Slade and Scalpel met in the air, twin blades meeting glaive, their weapons crashing together, before Scalpel's superior strength won out and sent Slade flying. Slade corkscrewed through the air and flipped over, landing with a slight slide as Scalpel himself landed.

Flipping his sword over so it was mostly pointed away from Scalpel, Slade charged in again, Scalpel meeting him as the two clashed again, Slade expertly blocking all of Scalpel's attacks with his backwards sword. Going with what had brought him to the dance, Scalpel danced back a step and slashed his blade up to bring it down with his strength…

Too slow, as Slade flipped his blade back rightwise and ran in, zipping around Scalpel's attack as his glaive crashed into the ground, as he slashed out and sliced open Scalpel's side. Scalpel yelled and clutched the wound, as his blood began dripping on the ground, the napalm like liquid hissing as it ate into the ice, Scalpel turning to glare at Slade as Slade twirled his sword a few more times.

"Come on alien. You're forcing me to only using one hand." Slade said.

Scalpel swung his glaive wide: Slade leapt away, doing multiple flips before stopping, as Scalpel jumped after him, slashing down with his glaive, as Slade dodged to the side, and as the staff weapon buried itself in the ice once more he stepped on it and leapt. Scalpel yanked his glaive backwards and performed a rolling backwards somersault as Slade slashed down with a foot, Scalpel barely avoiding it as he flipped up and narrowly avoided the follow up attack as Slade landed and whirled, slashing for Scalpel's head, knocking his hat off as Scalpel barely dodged in time, as the alien stood up and slashed out with his glaive again in a wide roundhouse swing, but Slade ducked just in time as well, and as the glaive swung away Slade zipped in and slashed, slicing another wound across Scalpel's front, making the alien stumble back again.

"Your survival so far must have been pure luck." Slade said: he STILL was only using one sword. Scalpel's eyes narrowed as he growled. Slade gestured. "Come on. Give me at least something memorable."

Scalpel charged, slashing his glaive repeatedly, as Slade blocked the blows and leapt back, and then as Scalpel charged again Slade leapt backwards, did a one-handspring press on a chunk of ice, and flipped over it, landing on the other side…

As Scalpel swung the glaive behind him and punched, his claw slamming straight through the ice chunk, the tips piercing into Slade's chest as he yelled, having finally erred: he'd expected Nigel to either go over or around the piece of ice, not THROUGH it. Angry, Slade slashed at the arm, but it jerked away as the blade swished past it, as Scalpel yanked his arm free and then reared back, slamming his foot into the ice chunk and breaking it clean off as it slammed into Slade, carrying him backwards before crushing him up against a remaining section of wall, as Scalpel coiled up his legs and leapt high into the air.

Slade shoved the remains of the ice piece aside and rolled forward as Scalpel slashed out, slicing through the whole wall as it crumpled and broke off, more of it collapsing towards the ground far below as Scalpel landed, whirled around…

And Slade's sword pierced through him, drawing a bellow, even as his other blade swung down and knocked the glaive from Scalpel's hand.

"I am disappointed." Slade said, as his nanosword broke apart and swarmed around the arm that held the normal sword stabbed through Scalpel. "The green one I could expect…" Slade said, as he lifted the blade up, forcing Scalpel up along with it. "But you're as simple to kill as he."

Scalpel's eyes went dark with fury.

"REALLY?"

And Scalpel slashed out, his claws carving a deep groove across Slade's mask as Slade recoiled with a yell, as Scalpel fell to the ground and snapped out a foot, throwing Slade across the room again. Slade didn't land as well as he could have, and hence took a few seconds to get up, as Scalpel slouched forward, Slade's sword still impaled through him.

Until he seized it and yanked it out, his virulent blood sizzling on the blade (it was holding up very well, this was a superbly crafted sword…)…and then throwing the sword back to Slade. Not at him, BACK to him, as Slade caught it with some confusion.

"Get ready. When I beat you, I want the world to know it was at your best." Scalpel said, kicking his glaive back into his hand even as more of his blood ran down his body and ate into the ice.

Slade's eyes narrowed.

"You want my best?"

The nanoblade shattered, as Slade reformed it…into another sub-machine gun, as Scalpel's eyes went wide.

"The best win at all cost! Remember that on your way to hell!" Slade snapped, as he aimed. "Say goodbye alien!"

The gun blazed, and the bullets flew at Scalpel…and slammed into a yellow energy shield.

"Goodbye's so generic. You should try something new. Try saying it in Basic. 10110!" Gauntlet yelled, as he reformed his power around the caught bullets and snapped them back at Slade. Slade growled as he flipped backwards to dodge.

Even as Gauntlet grunted and saw his yellow energy dissipate. Damn. It was happening more often. His artifact had taken a hellacious blow in the battle against that would-be Superboy and Gauntlet hadn't give it time to recover with all his running around playing the good guy, and now the power could only retain a charge for short periods of time.

Fine. He'd make do with what he had.

"Ah, the clown once more." Slade said. "Your bit of trickery around the artifacts back when we met almost makes me reconsider…but no, you're not even worthy of a blade." Slade said as he slid one sword behind him and dispelled the other.

"Oh really." Gauntlet said. "Well here's some Basic even you can understand Slade: 00101 YOU!" Gauntlet yelled as he leapt in, swinging his badly ravaged artifact.

Slade blocked the punch, the nanomachines swirling around his arms helping him to deal with Gauntlet's enhanced strength, as he blocked Gauntlet's follow up punches.

"Marine style boxing. Your grandmother I assume!" Slade said as he slipped to the side and lashed out, kicking Gauntlet into a chunk of ice…which he bounced off of, leaping into the air, as his yellow power returned. Slade dodged away…

Only to find the power vanishing as Gauntlet abruptly changed direction, zapping straight for Slade.

"And here's a trick from my mother!" Gauntlet yelled as he slammed his fingers into Slade's injured-by-a-Birdarang shoulder. Slade hissed, but he swiftly brought his other arm up to block Gauntlet's side roundhouse kick, and then got his other arm back into the fray as Gauntlet jumped and delivered three flying snap kicks in rapid succession…a move that was more pretty then effective, as Slade blocked and dodged backwards and then, as Gauntlet landed, buried his fist into Gauntlet's stomach, and then slammed an elbow into the back of his head, knocking Gauntlet to the ground.

"She apparently didn't teach you well enough." Slade said, as Gauntlet gasped for air at his feet. "I said you children always treated this like a game, like I was here for your entertainment. You perhaps embodied that more then any of them. So, Mr. Candide, having fun yet?"

"THE TIME OF MY LIFE!" Gauntlet snapped, as he surged up and swung his foot around, catching Slade in the shoulder and face with a rising backwards roundhouse, then spinning to his feet and swinging in with a downward arcing hook that Slade barely dodged. Gauntlet pressed the attack, swinging his Gauntlet arm at Slade again and then whirling and slashing out with another roundhouse, as Slade did a backflip to dodge. As he stopped Gauntlet ran up and fired off an upward thrust/snap kick at Slade: Slade blocked it and retaliated, throwing a roundhouse kick that knocked Gauntlet's armored arm aside even as Slade spun with the move and followed with a backwards thrust kick that slammed into Gauntlet's face and sent him flying backwards.

But Gauntlet landed on his feet.

"I see Nigel scratched your mask, let me buff that out for you!" Gauntlet snapped as he charged in and swung his fist at Slade again: Slade leapt backwards, using the nanomachines for a boost, and landed on a rather large chunk of ice that had once been part of the wall before the battle began breaking the whole arena.

"Still saying irreverent things, even as he desperately battles for his life. You're more then a joker, you're just a joke." Slade said.

"Really? Then why am I still standing? And who you calling desperate!" Gauntlet yelled as he leapt onto another chunk of ice as he called up another energy surge and leapt for Slade, flipping over and slamming his fist down where Slade had been, sending cracks shooting through the entire piece of ice. Gauntlet had hoped Slade would lose his footing, but the bastard kept it, so Gauntlet went to Plan B: Keep Attacking, as he ran and furiously punched at Slade.

Slade's arms blurred as he blocked the blows, even when Gauntlet threw in another side snap kick to try and catch Slade off guard. He blocked that too, and dodged the follow up punch with Gauntlet's armored arm, sliding backwards as Gauntlet's face tensed with frustration: this was so damn hard with his damaged artifact!

Not that that slowed him down.

"It looks to me like YOU'RE desperate. Did you really think I'm not worth any nanomachines, or are they running low on power and hence you don't want them shorting out? If that's the case, then we'll settle up on the asskicking account!" Gauntlet yelled, as he charged in again: Slade dodged to the side, blocked Gauntlet's whirling roundhouse punch, and dodged his follow-up punches.

"Only one thing will be settled here: the debt you Titans long owe. You will all die, just like your green friend."

"SHUT UP! Gar Logan was worth 1000 of you!" Gauntlet yelled as he lanced at Slade.

As Slade brushed past his blow.

"Then you can go JOIN HIM!" Slade yelled as he whirled and kicked Gauntlet under the chin, his nanomachines enhancing the attack and sending Gauntlet flying away, as Slade jumped from the large and badly damaged ice chunk down to the 'floor'.

"You're even more of a waste of space then…" Was all Slade got out.

As Scalpel leapt into the air, holding his glaive out, as Gauntlet flipped and grabbed onto it, and even as Slade watched Scalpel swung the glaive around, Gauntlet holding onto it even as Scalpel twirled it in mid-motion, and lashed out with it, hurling Gauntlet back the way he came like a bullet.

"That's the great thing about being on a team!" Gauntlet yelled as he thrust his fist out and yellow power bloomed from it. "Fastball Specials!"

The yellow energy fist slammed into Slade and smashed him back through the giant ice chunk, the whole thing shattering to splinters due to Gauntlet's earlier blow, as Slade flew off the blow and bounced along the ground, as Gauntlet landed among the icy dust of the giant shattered chunk.

"Variant 7, Patent Pending." Gauntlet said, as Scalpel landed next to him.

Slade growled, as he called his nanomachines back to him and formed his sword, even as he drew his other one.

"Oh now am I worthy of weapons?"

"You tell me!" Slade snapped as the nanosword reformed into his laser cannon and he fired, a piercing ray that zapped between the two and blasted into another part of the wall, as that broke off as well.

Nearby, a fist broke through a pile of ice.

Gauntlet charged in, swinging out with an energy charged punch, as Slade rapidly reformed his sword and crossed them before him, taking the blow, but even as he was thrown backwards Gauntlet also thrust out his arm, and Scalpel landed on it, perching on it like he was a bird.

"Variant 11, Patent Pending!" Gauntlet yelled as he swung out his arm even as Scalpel leapt off, lancing at Slade with his glaive out. Slade brought up his sword and the weapons slammed together, Slade stopping Scalpel's charge as the alien flipped off the impact, landing next to Slade's side. Before Slade knew it Gauntlet was on his other side, and he snarled as they both attacked him, glaive and gauntlet slashing and swinging, as Slade was forced to divide his muscle power to try and fend off each offense. This would not do.

And he let the Titans know it as he shoved Gauntlet's blow aside and went low, kicking Gauntlet in the kneecap even as he dodged an overhead slash from Scalpel's glaive, as he whirled up and kicked Scalpel across the face, sending him sprawling as Slade kept turning and stabbed for Gauntlet's head. Gauntlet got his armored arm up and deflected the blow, hissing low as it sliced across the exposed underpinnings of his weapon, but he still managed to twist around and grab the sword, as he tried to yank it from Slade's hand, but Slade went with the movement and the two spun around a bit before Gauntlet let go, spinning around and elbowing Slade in the midsection, and then diving to the ground as Scalpel leapt in and planted both his feet in Slade's chest, sending him flying backwards.

He flipped to recover, growling at the pain, even as Gauntlet charged in again, punching rapidly, as Scalpel took a mighty leap and flew over the two, landing behind Slade as he whirled and stabbed backwards…

And Slade dodged to the side with insane speed, leaving Gauntlet wide open.

The glaive stopped an inch from his face, both the teenager and alien's eyes wide as saucers.

"…Whew." Gauntlet said, as Scalpel whirled around as Slade flipped back and stood in a combat pose, both swords ready. "Didn't work Slade! Your attempt at friendly fire failed!"

"Oh?" Slade said.

And then he went low on the ground as the Starbolt flew over his head.

"…00101." Gauntlet said, and then the explosion consumed him and Scalpel, blowing them backwards.

"NO! MY FRIENDS!" Starfire cried, her attack having gone horribly wrong, as her distress swiftly morphed into rage. "ARGH! SLADE! YOU CLORBAG VARBLERNELK!" She shrieked as she flew at Slade, emerald rage blazing in her eyes.

"Temper temper princess!" Slade chastised, as he dashed at Starfire, even as she thrust back a hand to fire another Starbolt…too slow, as Slade zipped around her, leapt up, and kicked her from the air, and even as she slammed into the ground he was on her, slamming a fist into her face, his nanomachines enhancing his strength again as he lifted her up and slammed her into a chunk of ice, and as the nanobots concentrated around his fist he lashed out again, slamming his fist into her so hard the ice behind her shattered. Starfire let out a mournful cry, as Slade hurled her through the air as his nanomachines re-formed into a laser cannon that he unleashed on the alien, blowing her across the room and into another wall, which exploded and collapsed on her as she fell.

"It's unfortunate for you that your species still has pressure points, or worse, that I know where they are." Slade said: his devastating attack had been made possible by the precise place he had kicked Kory to start with, stunning her enough for Slade to follow up.

"Not as unfortunate as YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE!" Scalpel roared as he leapt back to attack, burned and battered but still going…

Until Slade turned around, his laser cannon still armed and charging.

"I don't need such things for you." Slade said, and fired.

"No!" Gauntlet said as he leapt in front of Scalpel. _Come on Gauntlet, I need you NOW…!_

The yellow energy erupted before Gauntlet, as the intense beam slammed into it, and though the shield blocked the shot it couldn't fully stop it, as Gauntlet was thrown backwards into Scalpel, blasted across the whole room…and into another wall.

Gauntlet's shield energy shorted out just in time for the ice to collapse on them in turn.

Slade made a low dismissive noise and disassembled the laser cannon, reforming it back into his second sword, as he looked around, the Titans fallen and beaten.

All except for one. Robin stood there, battered but stoic.

"Somehow I'm not surprised." Slade said. "I didn't quite think I had won yet."

"As long as one of us still stands against you Slade, you will never win." Robin retorted, his force tight with anger, dripping with righteous rage.

"If you haven't noticed Robin, you are the only one still standing." Slade said.

Robin didn't reply, as he reached down to his utility belt and unsnapped three Birdarangs, his hands bringing them together as they locked up and expanded, forming into his red sword, which he brought to one hand as he twirled his staff in the other.

"And so you come to die as well. You would think that what happened to your friends would convince you this wasn't a game."

"I knew that from the moment I saw you Slade. And all through our battles, you've never beaten us."

"Excuses, Robin. You had some fortune in taking advantage of failed plans, but when it came to the battle that mattered you see the result." Slade said, as he twirled his swords around him. "Come. The day won't be complete until your blood soaks the ground. Come Titan, and go, straight to oblivion."

Robin took to the air, his battle cry ringing through the ragged remains of the arena as he came down with his weapons.

* * *

Terra's eyes fluttered open, and she was briefly confused before the intense pain hit her, as she groaned and retched, curling up somewhat…and nearly slipping off her precarious perch as she gasped, and then groaned again, her chest on fire.

She managed to sit up a bit, looking at the black marks on her shirt. Son of a bitch, it had actually worked. She'd had to listen to various male Titans telling her to switch her shirt with armor, and had to deal with the armor's uncomfortableness, itching, shrinking when it was wet, and various other problems…but in the end it had come through: it had taken the bullets as well as any Kevlar vest had. Cyborg really was a genius in his high-tech defense weaves.

Not that that had made the impact of the bullets go away: it was what was causing her so much pain in the chest. She had several cracked ribs, at least…which she supposed was better then death, which is what should have happened with her heading on a straight plunge to the ground with no rocks or dirt to break her fall.

But she hadn't fallen all the way: she'd fallen about twenty feet onto an ice protrusion. Not that that had been any fun either, as she shifted a bit…

And so did the protrusion. Her eyes went wide as she looked back at the end stuck in the ice, and she gulped slowly.

Ok…trapped on a small piece of ice, no way off and nowhere to go but down, no powers or may as well be no powers (normally she wore a jacket filled with stones and pebbles, but it had been lit on fire during a rescue mission in Bludhaven and she'd lost it, and hadn't had time to have it replaced)…this was where she really proved she was a Titan.

…After ten seconds all she could think of was yelling for help. Which might bring help…or attract one of the many OMAC's she could see in the distance, as they battled with figures Terra couldn't quite make out. She gulped again: there sure were a lot of the robots.

"…Ok girl, think. What would Robin do…or Savior…wait I know, Savior'd go "I'd have never gotten into a situation like this in the first place you silly twit hee hee hee hee hee…!" At least I never tried fighting Slade all by myself you pretentious…" Terra muttered.

And then the ice tower shuddered violently: unknown to Terra Slade had just dealt with Starfire.

And the ice chunk lurched, shifting so it was facing slightly downward, and Terra's own heart filled with ice as she found herself starting to shift down, as she tried to scramble back, which just made it move more, oh God, not this way…

And then Gauntlet and Scalpel slammed into the wall, and shards of ice fell down past Terra…as hers broke completely off, sending her tumbling back off into the void.

Terra couldn't help it: she screamed, screamed in pure terror, as she plummeted down towards the ground, the ground that couldn't help her, as it wasn't warm earth but cold, uncaring ice, the ground buried far too deep under aeons of accumulated frost for her to reach, as it rushed up…

As did Metatron, as he ran up a large chunk of the ice and leapt high into the air, grabbing Terra and coming down with a loud snarl as chunks of ice crashed into the ground around them.

"Ow. OW. You just HAD to reach near-terminal velocity, didn't you?" Metatron said, lifting himself back up as he felt his knees pop explosively.

"…Who are you?" Terra asked.

"A friend." Metatron said as he set Terra down. "Ok Terra, I saved your life, your turn. Is Slade still up there?"

"…As far as I know…do I know you?" Terra asked.

"In another life. All right Slade, time to-ARGH!" Metatron yelled as he unfurled his wings and realized one was still disabled. "DAMN! Why didn't I have Collin take a look at this…damn, too late now…"

Terra was staring at the strange man, pondering him…and then realizing something.

"…Sir! Mister!"

"Name's Adam. What?"

"Give me your shoes!"

"…WHAT?"

* * *

In the way villains did, Alexander Luthor was having great difficulty keeping grace under fire as he stood before his rift, trying to both relocate Earth-2 and find elements for his perfect Earth, if not his perfect Earth itself…even as the supposed superheroes raised hell below and around him. The OMAC's were keeping them off his back…for now…

"Should we free Black Adam too?" Wonder Girl asked as she blocked a shot with her bracelets, Conner and her next to the Tower.

"Are you kidding?" Superboy replied: Black Adam was far more villain then hero (though he'd danced back and forth a bit), but he also wielded the power of the deceased wizard Shazam, putting him on par with Captain Marvel. And Marvel's title of "The World's Mightiest Mortal" wasn't just hyperbole. "Hell yeah!" Superboy said, as he began to tear into Adam's restraints.

"CONNER!" Came Wonder Girl's cry, and Superboy jerked away: in the seconds since he'd turned to trying to free Black Adam Wonder Girl had been swarmed by nearly a hundred OMAC's, and more were coming to join them.

"Hang on Cassie!" He called, as he flew after them, tearing through their ranks, even as Wonder Girl fought back furiously herself, as their battle strayed away from the Golden Tower.

That was probably very fortunate for them, as beads of sweat popped onto Alexander's face: damn it, everything was going wrong, his carefully ordered plan was falling apart, and the machine reacted to his distress and discord, as his rift began to crackle dangerously, his vision of the worlds distorting as bolts shot from the rift and began striking his tower, and he tried to get it under control but damn it there was so much noise and destruction it was like someone had jabbed a dagger of everything that was wrong with this world into his head DAMN IT…!

"ARRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH I CAN'T…CONCENTRATE…!" Alexander yelled.

And then power surged from his rift and exploded, throwing Alexander backwards and off his platform again with a low curse of fury, as the power around the void arched around the Tower and it began to rumble ominously.

And then it exploded from it, a strange black energy with white points burning in it, like space itself, as it erupted from the tower and coiled away like a snake. One strand went into the air, another went in a direction completely away from the battle…and another, the surge of strange power the size of a truck, barely avoided the metahumans and cyborgs fighting around the Tower and streaked towards the wargrounds.

Fortunately for the innocent people inside them, the OMAC's saw it coming.

"**_Extreme dimension field distortion field detected. Activating evasion maneuvers."_** The OMAC's said as they flew and dodged away before the gigantic twisting tendril could tear a hole through their ranks.

"WHOA!" Kyra said as she flew backwards, the black and white power missing her by several feet. "Holy…moly."

"What the hell…?" Hex said as she saw the tendril miss her comrades. "What on earth is that?"

"…Kyra, that energy scares me, darkness should not scare me, what the hell…" Mary said.

"Stay away!" Ragnarok yelled as he dropped down, his visor having immediately analyzed the strange energy. "That's chaotic antimatter! Don't touch it! Don't even go near it or attack it!"

"What? Antimatter? Then why aren't we blowing up?" Scorched Earth said.

"There appear to be variating degrees of antimatter…the most stable one just makes it the opposite of what we're made of. Remember what Noel said, about Alexander's powers? He didn't blow up…but this is far more unstable! Anything it touches that's made of positive matter, kiss it goodbye!"

"Will it blow up?" Kyra asked.

"…I don't think so, I think you'd need PURE chaotic antimatter for that…but still, don't go near it!"

"…My god, where's EJ?" Mary asked.

* * *

He was currently being thrown into Brick Wall, both of them going down in a heap.

"Good thing you made me break a sweat, or I'd consider both you maggots TOTALLY useless!" The General snapped, as he stomped towards the two. "But this is growing repetitive and derivative! Allow me to put you on PERMANENT leave."

"Ugh…bucking fastard…" EJ slurred, as Brick helped him up…and saw it.

"What the…"

"Hey soldier! Pay attention!" The General said, as he charged. Brick Wall jumped backwards, helping Potent, as the General crashed down where they had been…where it was headed.

"General, look out!" Brick Wall said, as he pointed.

"Oh please, you REALLY must have suffered brain damage to try as lousy a trick as that." The General said as he stomped towards them.

"Look! It's some kind of energy! Just look!"

"Sorry kid, I was born at night, but it wasn't last…"

And then the chaotic antimatter washed over the General, bathing him in black, and Brick Wall got to look as the General's eyes went wide in utter surprise…and then just flew apart, as his body completely broke down and ceased to exist.

"…Oh man…" Brick Wall said. Potent had recovered his senses, and had seen the sight as well, as he stared at the twisting snake of antimatter that had sideswiped the General and ended his war, forever.

"Crud." Potent said. "Just when you think it can't get any worse, the frickin Langoliers show up."

And then shadow consumed the two, and before they could say or do anything they were dumped out in front of the group of future Titans. Brick took it much better then EJ, who nearly screamed in surprise.

"Ah! Dammit! Don't do that, I thought it had somehow gone underground!" Potent cursed as the shadows reformed into Mary. "What the hell is that stuff we were cutting off our enemy's head and he kept going oh no big deal he just kept growing back and then that stuff comes along and boom he falls apart like wet cardboard WHAT THE HELL…!"

Mary slapped EJ, HARD.

"Get your head together Elijah." She said tersely.

"Hey. EJ." Potent said.

"It's chaotic antimatter. Don't touch it or go near it." Ragnarok said.

"Gee, really! I was thinking of bottling it and putting it on sale! I'd give those lemonade selling kids a REAL run for their money!" Potent snapped. This time, Mary slapped him on the back of the head. "Ow! Stop that!"

"We can trade barbs later! Incoming at 2 o'clock!" Scorched Earth said.

"Roger. What should we do until then?" Kyra asked.

"How about not getting pushed into the antimatter, which is what these OMAC's seem to want to do. Titans, GO!" Ragnarok yelled, and the newly rejoined group charged forward to meet the OMAC's.

No one seemed to notice how Ragnarok, despite calling for the charge, seemed to lag back behind the group.

* * *

Slade gave his dual swords a brief twirl, and then brought them in front of him as Robin came down.

Their weapons slammed together, as Robin and Slade traded blows so fast Robin actually seemed to be hovering in the air, as he assaulted Slade with a brilliant sword and staff combination attack, twisting and whirring, even as Slade countered with an even more brilliant defense, deflecting every blow.

As Robin did a super-tight mid-air somersault and swung both his weapons down, even as Slade swung them back up in perfect sync. The weapons slammed together, and Robin went with the impact as he bounced backwards, landing on his feet.

His hand blurred through the air, and Birdarangs flew, as Slade charged, slashing through them in mid-run, as Robin leapt back a bit more and hurled explosive discs. Slade transformed his nanoblade into a gun in mid-run and shot them in mid-air, running through their explosions as his gun returned to a sword, as he leapt high into the air and Robin leapt to meet him.

Their weapons clashed once more, and since Robin wasn't super strong neither could come out a victor, as sparks flew from their weapons and rained down on the ground as he continued to defy gravity and clash in the air.

A duel Slade won, as he knocked Robin's sword away and spun before Robin could renew his defense, kicking Robin in the chest and sending him flying backwards, as Slade pushed off the blow and spinning back around to face Robin as his nanosword shifted to a gun again and he opened fire. Robin whirled his staff to deflect the bullets, which they did, but the impact wrenched the weapon from Robin's hands and sent it spinning away, where it impaled into one of the remaining walls.

Robin flipped as he neared the ground and landed on his feet, as Slade landed…as his gun shifted to a grenade launcher again.

Robin did a giant flipping leap backwards as the grenade exploded where he had been (apparently Noel's worries about the stability of the chamber's floor were unfounded, but that didn't help Robin now), as he landed…and found a laser beam shooting straight for him. He leapt up and back again, and landed on his staff, balancing perfectly on it (thank you Dick for the acrobatic training), before Robin fell off and grabbed it with his hands, as the laser swept over where he had just been and sliced the entire top section of the wall off, as Robin swung back up and even while doing so his hands blurred to his belt, sending more razor-sharp Birdarangs flying at Slade. Slade slashed them from the air again…only missing one: it sliced off the end of his laser cannon. His eye narrowed as Robin flipped back on top of his staff and gave him a thumbs down.

The laser cannon disintegrated and reformed into a sword as Slade ran at Robin, leaping off two ice chunks as he flew towards the teenager. Robin blocked his slash as Slade flipped over him and landed on the length of ice that had once been solid wall before Slade had sliced it off, as Robin whirled and the two clashed again, swords ringing through the chamber.

But the ice ledge that Slade stood on wasn't very stable, and he swiftly leapt off, flipping over and past Robin again, his skill so great he was able to keep dueling with Robin all the while, but as he fell past Robin his nanosword exploded back into its base state again, swirling around his fist as he landed.

And punched the remaining piece of ice wall as hard as he could, shattering it into pieces and forcing Robin to leap off, unable to retrieve his staff as it went with the ice, and even as he landed Slade charged in another enhanced punch, but all he hit was Robin's cape as Robin whirled away and slashed with his sword, going for Slade's ankles: Slade flipped backwards and actually slammed a foot into Robin's face, making him stumble back as Slade landed and swung back up, his nanomachines reforming…back into the machine gun.

Robin ran for it, as Slade tore the ice apart behind him, Robin jumping and leaping, wishing he had something to grapple on, as he bounced off onto one of the two remaining walls and briefly ran across it, the bullets raking across it behind him as Robin dove behind a piece of ice and huddled there as bullets exploded through it…

And stopped.

Robin leapt from behind the ice chunk…

And Slade blew a giant hole in him with his switched-to shotgun.

Or rather, blew a giant hole in the hologram that had leapt up, as Robin leapt in to the side, his blade slicing across Slade's forearm and drawing a grunt from him as he whirled away and got his sword up, Robin clashing with it. Slade deflected his blade and aimed the shotgun again, only to have Robin leap up on top of the weapon and kick Slade across the face, throwing him onto the ground as Robin flipped away.

His staff was there, sticking out of the ice remains, and Robin grabbed it and yanked it free as Slade flipped up and switched from shotgun to pistol, firing at Robin as he spun the staff and deflected the bullets, even as he leapt at Slade. Slade got his sword up and the two dueled yet again, Slade proving just as formidable with one sword as two, before he leapt backwards, reformed the nanosword, and leapt into the air.

Robin soared up to meet him, as Slade slashed down and Robin took the blow, but even as his upward momentum was interrupted he twisted and grabbed Slade's leg, flipping himself up and over Slade so he was actually above him, as he slashed his sword down. Slade blocked it, and blocked the staff in turn…and didn't block the kick that struck him in the face and threw him away.

His eye now terse with anger, Slade hurled his sword towards the ground as his nanomachines reformed into dual guns and he opened fire on Robin in mid-air as they both fell. Robin spun his staff, as usual, but this time there were simply too many bullets…

One tore a chunk out of his upper thigh, while two more slammed into his body armor and gave him the sensation of being rammed by a bull, while a final one tore across his shoulder. He hit the ground hard and painfully, while Slade landed on his feet.

Slade picked up his normal sword and called back his nanoblade as Robin slowly, painfully, got up, his weapons limp in his hands. Slade chuckled.

With a yell of rage, Robin hurled his sword at Slade.

Slade made another dismissive noise and brought his swords up…

As Robin hit a button on his belt and the sword exploded back into three Birdarangs. Slade's eye widened, as he tried to change his stance…

He got one.

The second slammed into his right knee, while the third clipped his mask and tore a chunk of it off, as Slade recoiled and nearly fell down.

He looked back at Robin, bare skin exposed above his eye now, as blood began running down from it. Even with the mask, Robin could tell Slade was pissed, as he whirled his staff up.

And charged, as Slade swung his swords around and made them ready.

The weapons clashed once more, as Slade and Robin dueled in the center of the arena of ice.

Robin knocked one sword away and stabbed his staff at Slade: Slade dodged and clamped his arm over the staff. Robin immediately shoved the staff forward and flipped over Slade, avoiding his other sword in the process as he grabbed the staff extension from the other side and pulled it free, whirling and slashing for Slade's head. Slade blocked it, as Robin rebounded and spun again, kicking out with an armored boot that deflected off Slade's sword again…as Robin brought the staff down and knocked the sword to the ground, then pistoned it back and forth, ramming the tip into Slade's sternum and driving him back with a grunt.

Robin leapt and swung down, and Slade, instead of blocking, leapt up and around Robin, swinging his leg around…as Robin did another insanely tight-flip and brought his staff around at a 270 degree angle to block the blow, as Robin spun away from the attack and landed on his feet, swinging the staff up…

Slade caught it, his nanomachines back into his enhancement swarm mode, and swung around it, shifting the weight as he hurled Robin through the air, holding onto the staff as Robin hit the ground. He leapt and lanced down, aiming for Robin's head, but Robin rolled away and came up next to Slade's sword, which he stared at for a second before he snatched it up and whirled to block Slade's blow.

The duel started up again, as each fought the other with the other's weapon, each trying to deal with the fact said weapon wasn't properly weighed for them. They did admirably anyway, as they slashed, stabbed, and swung, neither giving an inch…

Until Slade flipped away…

And by some sixth sense Robin knew something bad was going to happen, and as Slade came up Robin tossed the sword at him, even as Slade hit a button on his wrist…

Electricity exploded on the sword, even as Slade saw it coming and let go of the staff with one hand to catch it…as Robin ran up, leaping and kicking Slade even as he kicked the staff into the air, grabbing it in mid-disarm as he landed and spun it. Slade's eye narrowed again as he dispelled the electrical charge on his sword.

Robin gestured towards Slade: a bring it on gesture. So typical of a child, as Slade called back the nanoblade once more and leapt.

They clashed as if they were tireless, as if they could duel for eternity.

But nothing lasts forever.

Slade dodged away from a slash and lashed out, kicking the staff free, but as he moved in Robin leapt for his weapon and rolled, bringing the staff up and around as it knocked Slade's nanosword from his hand. Slade spun with the motion and slammed a kick across Robin's head, and as he went down Slade flipped over to his blade and snatched it up, even as Robin leapt from the ground and stabbed at Slade. Slade slashed his weapons down, knocking the end of the staff into the ground…as Robin used the sudden upward shift on the other side of the staff to flip over Slade, and as Slade turned around Robin lashed out with his legs and kicked Slade twice across the face, landing and grabbing his staff up as Slade staggered back and then stopped, growling again, blood running into his eye as he slashed towards Robin. Robin turned the staff vertical and blocked, and then pole-vaulted off the weapon and kicked Slade in the face. Slade flipped backwards, cartwheeled to the side, and charged in, slashing rapidly at Robin, who blocked his slashes, their weapons blurring around them, it seemed like even their wielders couldn't see what they were doing…

And then with a mighty clang, Robin's staff knocked Slade's sword high into the air.

He still had one though…for a moment, as his nanomachines abruptly disintegrated and swirled around his arms, as Robin pressed his advantage and furiously attacked Slade, who blocked the blows with his arms. He retaliated with a kick, but Robin blocked it with his own foot and continued furiously attacking Slade, beating dents in his arm armor, driving him back, as his eye slowly grew wide with desperation, unable to mount an offense lest he be destroyed by the blistering attack Robin had unleashed, as the staff came faster and faster, hitting Slade all over his upper torso, the assassin unable to form something from the nanomachines, barely able to block…

As Robin roared and spun, throwing all his might behind a final swing.

As Slade yanked his head backwards.

The staff whistled over his head.

And Slade came back as he thrust up his palm, knocking the staff loose, even as he swung with his right hand and struck it again, knocking it away as he whirled with the motion, his foot slamming across Robin's face and knocking him back…

And the sword came down, as Slade finished his spin and caught it.

"Game."

The tip was as cold as the ice, as Robin felt the blade pierce through his body armor and through the flesh below.

* * *

The good news was, the OMAC's hadn't been able to push the Titans Tomorrow back into the antimatter.

The bad news was the antimatter threads were clearly moving, and while at the moment it was moving AWAY from the Titans Tomorrow that didn't mean it wouldn't abruptly change direction and start heading back. And new ones could very well pop up.

Oh yes, not to mention there were still thousands of OMAC's, and the group was getting to the point where they were running on fumes.

"You know, I never did like Dynasty Warriors!" Kyra tossed over to Mary as she ran a green lawnmower over a group of OMAC's, while Mary settled for just blasting them. The group had formed a rough circle and was doing its best to defend itself, but by now the OMAC's had evolved the instinct to carry away its disabled, and there simply weren't enough heroes to stop this: so for all they knew they were facing renewable numbers. And even if they weren't, they still seemed endless.

And for one, time was running out.

Ragnarok blasted one group with a fire blast and then another with a reality blast…and then stepped back as he sucked in air.

Potent tore through OMAC's, still having a hefty amount of rage. Brick Wall was serving as a shield and support aid for Hex and Yin. Scorched Earth was throwing Scorch Bolts at whatever moved.

And he was getting pretty tired, as he flew backwards, punched out another OMAC, and flew over to Ragnarok, who was staring at his hands.

"Hey Collin, you think those Catalysts could give me some kind of artificial sunlight? I'm running low."

"…What?" Ragnarok said.

"I said…"

"Ragnarok." Brick Wall rumbled, as he stepped over to the hero. "Yin's starting to freeze up again. He needs some heat."

"I…well…" Ragnarok said, as he looked around…

And then his head lowered.

"…I'm…sorry guys…"

And he threw back his arms and yelled as dark power erupted from him, consuming all the OMAC's around the group and sending them crashing to the ground, disabled, greatly startling the heroes around him at the suddenness of it.

"Wow, nice move Collin, but are you sure you should be doing that?" Kyra asked.

"…No…no…" Ragnarok said, in a strange resigned tone. Kyra arched an eyebrow.

"Hey! That won't keep them off us long! They're already regrouping! Just in case you wanted to know!" Potent said, and then ran off to attack a still-moving OMAC.

"What do you mean no Collin?" Yin said.

"…I'm sorry guys…" Ragnarok said, as he put his hand on Yin's shoulder, as red and black energy flowed through his gauntlet and over Yin, warming him back up.

"Sorry? You're doing fine." Kyra said.

"…No…I should have said something…too late now…"

"What?" Hex said. Ragnarok raised his arms.

"Look."

The Titans looked at his arms…and saw a strange thing.

The Catalysts were…pulsing. They almost seemed to be vibrating in their containers, as if they wanted to escape.

"Okkkkk…I'm guessing that's not good." Kyra said.

"No. It's not." Ragnarok said. "…They're going to overload."

"What? Collin, you never said the Catalysts could overload!" Yin said.

"I didn't know. No one has ever used the Catalysts, in this number, to this length, as I have Davis…I never would have had this not happened…but it's not just that. Delirium…he used them as a pure force, and you saw the damage. I can't use them as a pure force, I have to keep their powers focused. But it's like running water through a dwindling hose: it works for a while, but eventually the hose starts shrinking to the point where it can't handle the pressure. The Catalysts weren't meant to be used in a focused way. They're like a force of nature…and you can't exactly guide a hurricane. It goes where it wants to go. I tried to keep them under control…and it's finally catching up. The hose is going to break. They won't last much longer."

"Why didn't your suit tell you something was wrong?"

"It did…many times…but I couldn't just leave you guys hanging. There had to be a reason that I was brought here to this fight…and I couldn't run. I tried to reign it in…I did everything I could…but there's nothing left I can do."

"Collin…" Kyra said.

"It's all right…and I'm not done yet. I said there was nothing left I could do…except one thing. If they're going to blow…they're going to do it where I want to."

"Wha, no Collin! Don't be stupid! Just take them off! Or remove your armor or…"

"No time." Ragnarok said. "…Once, I ran away from my responsibilities. I won't run again. Not when I can do something." He glanced at Yin. "Davis…if you ever make it home…tell Aurora and my parents I love them."

"Collin…!" Yin said: they weren't exactly friends but they were still comrades and…

"Gentlemen, ladies…it has been an honor."

And Ragnarok leapt through the air, away from the group.

"Collin wait…!" Kyra yelled, as she tried to grab him with her ring, unwilling to let this be the only option…

As a wall of rock exploded from the ground and covered the group, forming a tight seal. He must have been calling the rock while he'd been standing around explaining what had happened.

"Goodbye…" Ragnarok said, and sped off.

He broke through the OMAC lines, pushing through them, going deeper into their mass, as the OMAC's turned around and tried to get at the metahuman that had dared come so close, their scanners trying to process the strange glowing lights that were coming off his arms and chest.

The rock cover exploded as several sets of powers were directed against it, but it had held the Titans Tomorrow too long already.

As Ragnarok stopped, the glow growing brighter, as he did one final mental command over the power that was going to be unleashed. Better this way.

He actually found himself smirking, as all the OMAC's around him turned towards him and targeted him.

**_"EXECUTE."_**

"Glomp off, Arnie." Ragnarok said.

And then he threw back as his hands as his body was consumed by brilliance.

The explosion blasted deep in the center of the OMAC's, waves of energy blowing off the detonation and throwing all the Titans Tomorrow off their feet, the force waves washing over the Tower and everything around it.

And then silence.

"…Rag…" Kyra said, holding an arm out helplessly.

As her ring hand clenched into a fist, as green sparks began spitting from her ring.

"That's IT. I'm going to make Alexander Luthor's ego and madness a tangible thing so he can CHOKE ON THEM!" Kyra screamed, and charged.

But sadly, despite his sacrifice, Ragnarok had only taken out about half the remaining OMAC's, having directed the blast so it would act like his former disrupting shields. The remaining OMAC's, no longer sensing a threat, had turned back to Kyra and co.

They found out her wrath was a terrible thing indeed. As was the wrath of her teammates.

But…their numbers, despite all that had happened, were greater still.

* * *

Metatron hated being this close to ice. Even with the special suit Ragnarok had made (and that was holding up great, he barely felt the cold at all), he didn't care about digging his claws into ice and climbing up it. But his wings were out of the question, and that damn girl, what right had she…well, she'd probably been right. That didn't change Metatron's immense irritation as he clambered his way up the side of the ice tower.

And then the shockwave hit him.

"HOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…!" Metatron yelled as he lost his grip and fell, plummeting down a few hundred feet before he finally flipped over and dug his claws back in, coming to a screeching stop after dragging a few dozen yards.

"Gragh." Metatron cursed: and now he was losing ground. But that wouldn't stop him, as he began climbing back up, glancing out at the battlefield: where had that shockwave come from? The Titans were still battling OMAC's, the Tower was still standing…and what the hell were those giant black threads?

* * *

Slade and Robin didn't even notice the shockwave, as Slade looked down on his killing strike, as Robin looked down at the sword that had pierced through his body armor and what lay beyond…

Pierced…an inch in.

As both looked at the white energy wrapped around the blade, grabbing it at the last moment, having stopped it from going any further, as Slade's eye went wide and he followed the white tendril to where it came from.

"COLLINS!" He roared, looking at the trashed as hell Savior, standing nearby, his face a mask of pain, his broken right arm done up in a Shimmer brace…but his legs were holding him, and his hand was out, the Shimmer having extended and blocked the killing strike.

"What, not Stu?" Savior said.

And then he yanked the sword out and slammed it backwards into Slade's face, sending the assassin backwards as Robin stumbled away, quickly finding his feet and checking the wound. Just a shallow chest cut.

He quickly leapt over to his staff, grabbing it back up as Savior recalled his Shimmer to him, having managed to knock Slade down.

"Savior! What are you doing!"

"Helping my leader."

"You can barely stand!"

"Still standing."

"NOT FOR LONG!" Slade yelled, as he flipped back up and re-summoned his nanoblade, charging at the two.

"Robin, you're right. Even with what Raven managed to heal, I can hardly fight. So do you trust me?" Savior asked.

"…Yeah."

"Then fight. I'll be with you."

"If you say so. HAHHHHHHH!" Robin said as he ran to meet Slade.

Nearby, Raven walked with a careful step, trying not to slip on the ice. Having a few tons of ice dropped on her when her shielding talents weren't up to snuff wasn't fun, but she and Noel had managed, through a combination of talents, to survive and finally get free. Raven had even fixed him up a bit, though not all the way as he told her to save some strength for the others.

And she was heading to one of those others, because of the terrible wrong she'd sensed. A terrible absence.

She didn't want to believe it.

Until she came to it.

"…Oh, Gar…" Raven said, falling to her knees beside the body.

Robin was hurt and worn out, and that had been before he'd been warped here and engaged in this battle with Slade. But he found new strength once more, as he once again met Slade's twin swords with his staff, the two picking right up where they'd left off…

Except Robin's exhaustion was clear, as he blocked too low on one side…and left his flank open, as Slade slashed his other sword towards the opening…

Only to have it deflected into the ground by a Shimmer strand. Slade's eye went wide, even as Robin took a step back and whacked the sword aside before Slade could recover, spinning his staff and resuming the duel, more sparks flying from the weapons as Slade's blades flew up in a cross shape…

And another strand flew into them and knocked them backwards, throwing Slade off balance and letting Robin get a devastating blow to Slade's midsection he could have never gotten otherwise.

"Collins!" Slade yelled, as he slashed for the Shimmer strands, but they swiftly retreated, as Robin leapt backwards and hurled a Birdarang at Slade. He was forced to deflect it, as Robin looked back at Savior, who was standing nearby, barely, but doing his part as an extra arm, as Robin gave him a thumbs up and turned back to Slade, bringing his staff up as Slade's blade slashed down against it…and then a strand darted around Robin and hit Slade in the middle of his left shoulder, throwing off his balance as Robin slid the blades off his staff and whirled, slamming a mighty blow into Slade's other shoulder.

But Slade was relentless, as he furiously attacked Robin again, his emotions finally starting to come through, but Robin didn't give him an inch, as he blocked and deflected and ducked…

And Slade flipped over him, leaping off and jumping for Savior, whose eyes widened.

"DID YOU REALLY THINK…!"

A Birdarang slammed into the back of Slade's head, stopping his attack cold as he hit the ground and stumbled.

"Pay attention Slade!" Robin snapped: he hadn't been as caught off guard as he had given the impression off.

And neither had Savior.

"This isn't a game!" Savior added, as he jumped forward and smashed a Shimmer-reinforced fist across Slade's face, sending him staggering back, as Robin ran to the side, bounced off yet another of the ubiquitous ice chunks, and spun, lashing out with his staff.

And with a mighty cracking noise Slade's mask broke off, the black and orange covering flying away as Slade flew off his feet and came crashing down to the ground, as Robin flipped over to Savior.

"He labeled us children, and dismissed our skills, our intelligence, and our past because of it. It's kind of sad when your adult foe tries to hide behind the reality by saying we're idiots who think this is a game. Got a quote for that Savior?"

"Yeah, an apropos phrase from a dead man's throat." Savior said. "I feel stupid. And contagious. Here we are now. Entertain us."

Slade got to his feet, the rage clearly edged across his face, his hair soaked with sweat and his trimmed white beard streaked with blood as he wiped at the corner of his mouth, looking at the blood that collected on his glove. This was impossible. He had manipulated and disabled them perfectly, as easily as an adult should be expected to, how were they still going…

Up until now, as his nanoblade disassembled once more as the nanomachines streaked from the rest of his body and formed into his multi-missile launcher.

"As you wish." Slade said, and fired.

Robin and Savior threw themselves backwards, but the explosions still caught them, as they vanished in smoke and fire, as Slade reformed the missile launcher into a handgun and waited.

And then, sensing movement behind him, he whirled.

"…Heh." Slade said, as he looked at Terra, who stood on the edge of the arena, having finally made her way back up. "Not very bright child. You narrowly escape death by some means, only to come back here and throw your life away again."

Terra didn't say anything, and Slade only briefly noted the blood on her hands, slowly dripping from them, as Slade aimed the gun at her.

"This time, it's your head." Slade said.

"How appropriate." Terra replied.

And opened her hand, as the tiny stone, made from the dirt she had managed to scrap out of the grooves of Metatron's boot, dirt and tiny pieces of rock gotten from running around Ragnarok's rock platform, about the size of a fingernail, that she'd been forced to use to carry herself up on, the tiny platform digging deeply into her hand with no way to spread the pressure, flew from her bloody palm.

Right through Slade's eyepatch.

"I'm not going to blind you. I want you to see it coming." Terra said, and thrust her hand out as her eyes glowed gold.

None of the Titans had ever heard Slade scream before, but they heard it now, as Terra bounced and smashed her tiny rock all around Slade's empty eye socket, digging into some areas like a screw as Slade dropped his sword and tore at his face, blood streaming down from the empty hole, as he jerked and agonized over the terrible pain, tearing his head apart.

As Terra gestured again and the rock flew back out, as Slade collapsed to his knees, holding his bleeding face as the blood-slick pebble flew back into her hand.

"I could have gone all the way into your brain. Turned it into Swiss cheese. But I didn't Slade. Because I know better. Here, I know better. And besides, I'm much rather see your brain after it's been forcibly beaten out of your head."

Slade screamed and aimed his gun again, only to have Robin's staff come down on his wrist and disarm him, as Robin whirled and smashed Slade across the chest, knocking him backwards, as Savior rode Shimmer strands to him and spun, kicking Slade in the face and sending him flying, even as pain shot up his leg…as Slade flipped and leapt towards Savior, sword slashing…into yellow energy.

"Hey there!" Gauntlet said, as the yellow energy expanded and grabbed Slade, throwing him backwards…into the grip of powerful claws.

"Salutations." Scalpel said, and kicked Slade across the room, smashing him through another chunk of ice…but despite all those blows, Slade still flipped and landed on his feet, his body in pain but his mind as sharp as ever and burning with the need for vengeance, as the nanomachines returned to him, having broken apart as soon as his gun hit the ground, as he reformed it into a sub-machine gun and opened fire, sending everyone diving for cover, as Slade backed up, gun blazing.

And felt the hand come down on his shoulder. He whirled and aimed…

The giant gorilla hand knocked it from his grasp.

"…No…you're dead." Slade said, as he looked into Beast Boy's simian face.

"Maybe as a human." Beast Boy replied, as he thought of what Raven had found, a tiny green form lying on the ground, a last ditch attempt to survive, but not properly designed for the environment and hence slowly freezing to death anyway…until Raven had placed him in the proper conditions and given him a boost, as the form he had chosen genetic gifts pulled him back from the brink. "NOT AS A STARFISH!"

Beast Boy put every bit of aggression into his punch, throwing Slade backwards again, as he hit the ground, and Robin and Scalpel leapt up…

Their weapons hit nothing but ground, as Slade rolled away, his nanomachines swarming back once again as he formed the nanoblade and furiously defended himself, deflecting Robin's attack and kicking him aside…as Gauntlet and Savior replaced him, all of them slashing, punching, and striking at him. Slade was swiftly overwhelmed and retreated backwards, as he flipped over to where he'd left his normal sword in his pain and yanked it up, and then leapt over the group, only to have them crash into each other as they tried to turn around.

"Watch it Rob!"

"You watch it!"

"No arguing, attack!" Scalpel yelled, as the three Titans went after Slade again, once again armed with two swords as he defended himself, his arms a mad blur as he tried to fend off three difference offenses at once…

And finally had it, as he leapt backwards, sticking his sword in his back sheath as his nanomachines reformed into twin handguns and he opened fire on the three, as they fled from him, the alien catching a bullet in the side as he roared in pain, as Slade swept the guns over to Savior as he collapsed due to his previous injuries, but Gauntlet got in the way and used his yellow energy shield to block the shots…

And then Cyborg charged in from the side, shoulder-ramming Slade nearly out of his boots.

"Well HOWDY!" Cyborg said in false angry cheer, the side of his head a partially repaired wreck, and floored Slade with another punch, sending him flying backwards. "Thanks for zapping me Slade! Just what I needed to get a proper reading on your nanomachines…I think this is the right frequency to disrupt them!" Cyborg said as he formed his sonic cannon. "Say goodnight, Gracie!"

The sonic blast threw Slade backwards even further, even as his guns fell apart, a nearly invisible trail of microscopic machinery being left behind him as the infinitesimal robots all shorted out, as Slade tried to recover, finally stopping…

As Beast Boy bear-uppercutted Slade into the air, his claws tearing a deep gash across his front, as he flew up…

Right into the hands of Starfire.

He found himself looking into her glowing, angry eyes.

"Hello Slade." Starfire said, in an icy whisper Slade would have never expected to hear from the alien.

And then beams of green power exploded from her eyes, slamming into Slade and carrying him all the way down into the ground with a thunderous crash.

And perhaps showing his amazing gifts, Slade was back up after a few seconds, albeit in a staggering lurch as he tried to get his wits back around him…

And every single remaining ice chunk was suddenly seized by black power, and as Slade's eye widened one more time, they all took to the air and towards one central target.

Slade Wilson.

The impact washed over all the Titans as all the ice chunks slammed together on Slade, and he vanished in another spray of icy dust.

Raven lowered herself down, setting herself down delicately, as the Titans gathered around the remains of the ice.

"Is it over?" Scalpel asked, limping some.

"…No." Raven said.

The view finally cleared, as Slade Wilson, the ice little more then minor pieces around him, somehow rose to his feet again.

But the calm poise, the body tensed with amazing battle skill and ability, was long gone. This was a man on his last legs.

Those legs might yet win the race, but the fact that he was on them perhaps shocked Slade deeper then any of the tricks or comebacks he had seen the Titans use today. How…he had planned it perfectly…everything…it was almost like leading them through a dance…how could he have ended up here…

Unless…

No…

Unless the Titans had had their own plan. Unless they had attacked him singularly and in small groups not because of a lack of skill or experience, but as part as a carefully timed and orchestrated maneuver fraught with immense risk (Beast Boy's very close call an example) so that they could take the best he could offer and spread it around, not letting any of them get too hurt or crippled, able to adapt on the fly to continue the plan, and keep it perfectly hidden in the fog of supposed inexperience…

When he thought he was slowly taking them apart he was really falling into their plan…because now they were all together and could attack all together…

But they COULDN'T have…it was IMPOSSIBLE…

"Impossible…" Slade whispered. "You're children…you're children!"

"We prefer chronologically impaired." Gauntlet said.

Slade's eye, eternally shifting to narrow and wide and back again, shifted to narrow once more, as he looked around, at all the Titans surrounding him, all capable of fighting…

And so was he.

"Slade…" Robin said, and let the offer stand unsaid.

Slade looked at Robin.

And then he gave his answer silently, as he slowly slid his sword from his back sheath.

"…So be it." Robin said, and brought his staff out again.

"This will NOT HAPPEN! YOU ARE CHILDREN!" Slade yelled.

"Titans, GO!"

Slade met Robin's staff swing, even as Gauntlet's fist punched into his side, and Slade spun away from that and flipped up and away from the sonic cannon blast, only to fly into Scalpel's leaping kick. He hit the ground on his feet anyway and slashed several times as a velocirapter tried to bite and claw him, only to trip when the dinosaur turned into an armadillo and rolled into his feet. Slade spun up and flipped away from the Starbolts, and then Robin's staff slammed into him and he was down on the ground again, where a black-encased Shimmer strand met him with several powerful lashes that sent him staggering back, as Cyborg punched him in the back and Slade flew into a tiny rock which exploded against his forehead, pitching him backwards. He got up, as his vision blurred and then cleared…

Gauntlet slammed a punch across his face, and then Cyborg blasted him from the side, as Robin leapt through the air and kicked Slade into the ground again. Somehow he got up AGAIN, only to find a green lion running past him as it clawed open a deep wound on his leg, even as a glaive flew by and sliced another bleeding gash across his side, as a Shimmer strand smashed him into the air, aided by a black energy push, where a pair of Starbolts blew him into the ground.

And as the Titans landed around Slade, he somehow, somehow, got back up, as Robin landed in front of him, and Slade's eyes focused on him, as he aimed his sword towards him and Robin charged.

"Impossible. You're children. CHILDREN!" Slade yelled.

"We're not children." Robin said, as he swung back his staff, as Slade swung back his sword. "We're a legacy."

And the weapons swung towards each other.

And Slade's sword shattered as Robin's staff broke through it, pieces of metal spraying the grandmaster assassin as he stumbled back, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"And you Slade…you're history." Robin said, as he leapt, spun, and lashed out.

His foot connected right between Slade's eyes and sent him flying backwards.

He crashed down near the broken off part of his mask, his broken hilt sliding off into the distance.

And…he got up.

As he looked at the Titans gathered before him, battered, bruised, bleeding…and ready to fight on.

And Slade looked at them.

Even as he fell to his knees.

And then his eyes went dull as he fell forward. He did not get up again.

Robin stared for another few seconds, and then let out a deep breath.

"And THAT, Slade, is game."

"A denial." Savior said, as he looked at Deathstroke the Terminator, the greatest in the world…and beaten by them. The Teen Titans. Children. "A denial. A denial."

* * *

Just for a moment, the Titans forgot what danger the world was in.

But Alexander hadn't forgotten, as he finally got back up to his rift, his teeth clenched, unable to believe it had come this far. His antimatter powers combined with all his manipulations combined with the giant mess this had become had resulted in raw streams of antimatter exploding from the tower and sweeping off into the surrounding areas. True, his Tower wasn't broken yet, far from it, but the fact that it had happened at all drove Alexander mad. He had to get it under control, or at least turn it to his advantage. Damn, why couldn't it wash over a few of those blasted heroes…

And then he felt the rumbling, and he braced himself. Not AGAIN…

Another pair of streams exploded from the Tower. Another went off into the distance, harming nothing but some ice…while the other streaked into the battlefield, but nowhere near where the heroes out there were battling. Blast!

Calm, Alexander thought: if he didn't calm down he'd completely lose control. This wasn't over yet, and he was the master. He'd turn it back. He'd find the perfect Earth yet. Even now, more and more worlds were being born, before his eyes. He WOULD find it. And he'd still make Superman pay…

If only he knew Kal-L's words…

_"The Multiverse is unstable. The Earths will become weaker and weaker as they're divided…if they aren't brought back together soon, the entire universe will explode in a new Big Bang. EVERYTHING will be destroyed…"_

But he did not.

And even if he had, he'd have paid them no heed.

As down below, Power Girl finished smashing the last of her OMAC's into submission. She'd wished she'd had some help, but there were so many OMAC's that even the freed 'keys' (Breach, Lady Quark, The Ray, and Nightshade) had all they could handle (they weren't ALL the keys, but Power Girl could only see them), though she could see the Ray had finished off the ones attacking him…

And then she felt it, like a slimy hand in her skull, and she winced and groaned, grabbing her head…

Nightwing saw it, but he was too far away to do anything: he'd lost his backup. Superboy and Wonder Girl had been drawn away from the Tower fighting their own legion of OMAC's, and Donar was out of sight too. For the moment he was trying to help Breach and Lady Quark as best he could…which meant he couldn't help Power Girl.

The Ray also noticed the strangeness that Power Girl was demonstrating, and flew over…as the Psycho-Pirate emerged from the chaos, having finally seen his opening, as he reached out with his powers into the mind of his precious, Power Girl.

"I'm going to make you ANGRY, Power Girl." The Psycho-Pirate said. "So angry you're going to beat the Ray to death. Beat the light right out of him."

"Like Bizzaro did to the Human Bomb?" The Ray replied, as he remembered seeing his fellow Freedom Fighters slaughtered by the Society, a memory that brought back anger…anger that was abruptly replaced by near-paralyzing fear.

"And you…you will do nothing. Just die. Power Girl, make him…" Psycho-Pirate said, as he manipulated both Power Girl and the Ray's emotions…

"Turn, knave."

The voice, right by Psycho-Pirate, made him jerk and turn to the side, as Donar stood there, Mjolnir in hand, as Halston's eyes went wide in fear.

"No! Keep away! You're afraid! Afraid! Why aren't you afraid!" The Psycho-Pirate shrieked.

"Your mask is magical…so is Mjolnir. Mine is much older. Its magic trumps yours." Donar said.

"NO YOU'RE AFRAI-"

Donar slammed Psycho-Pirate into the sky, a screaming reverse comet…who abruptly disappeared about 120 feet into the air.

"…By Odin?" Donar said.

"He moved too far away from the Tower. He went back to his Earth. And I bet he's hurting." Power Girl said, with a tad too much relish for Donar's taste.

"Indeed." Came a new voice, and the three looked up to see Black Adam, finally free himself, floating nearby. "Thank you young man, you saved me the messy business of directing his mask out through the back of his head with my fist."

"Would that be necessary Adam?" Power Girl said.

"Absolutely." Black Adam replied. "But I suppose…"

Donar never quite knew what happened.

He was pretty sure he might have heard a sonic boom.

He thought he might have heard a voice say "Hello, Kara".

And he thought he might have seen a blur of color as the form slammed into them.

But he definitely felt the punch.

It may have been the hardest he took in his entire life.

* * *

Metatron was about ¾ of the way up the ice tower when he saw it, as the black snaking thread of antimatter exploded from the Golden Tower and tore through the air…right for him. Or rather right for the tower of ice he was climbing.

And as much as he wanted revenge, and despite not knowing exactly what it was, Metatron knew he had to get away from it before it touched him.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-!" Metatron screamed as he leapt away, the mass of destructive energy slamming through the ice monolith's body…as Metatron suddenly found himself in freefall with no parachute.

"Argh!" He yelled, and with no choice unfurled his injured wings. "Come on wings, you're never anything but trouble, COME ON WINGS…!"

They managed to give Metatron enough air so instead of splattering into the ground he just hit it really really hard, as he bounced along in a near bone-breaking tumble before coming to a stop.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." Metatron said as he stood up, his whole body aching. Well, at least he'd escaped the weird energy. And survived the fall. And…

Had to avoid the gigantic shards of ice that were falling towards him, as he yelled and ran, cursing long and loud as he folded back up his wings and sprinted away.

* * *

"…You know, somehow I felt like this moment would be more, you know, significant." Beast Boy said.

"On my planet, there is no joy in finally defeating a bitter foe. There is great joy in redeeming one…but even I know this will not happen." Starfire said sadly.

"We did what we had to do." Savior said, as he turned to his team. "…Thanks for the save."

"Oh you have no idea how much you owe us now buddy." Gauntlet said.

"We can work it back out at the Tower." Robin said. "Just because we…"

And then the chaotic antimatter tore through the shaft of the ice tower, vaporizing a gigantic hole in it…and rendering it unable to support its own weight, as the impact shook the Titans.

"What was THAT?" Terra asked.

"I don't know, but I bet it's nothing good!" Cyborg said.

"Actually, there are statistical happenings where loud noises are shown to be a good thing. Really. Here's a pamphlet." Gauntlet said, as he offered one to Cyborg.

And then giant cracks began springing up through the floor of the area, as the last remaining pieces of the wall broke off.

"Titans, MOVE!" Robin yelled.

A moment later the floor cracked it half and pieces began to fall off. Terra found herself in freefall again, before Starfire swooped down and grabbed her, as Beast Boy became a dragon and Gauntlet and Scalpel jumped on his back, as the other Titans ran to the fliers.

And Slade's eye blinked open, and he looked up just as his ice section tilted from under him and he found himself sliding down. His eye went wide, and he tried to grab onto something, anything, as the section broke more and he found himself slipping off the edge.

He got a grip just as his legs went off the end, and he jerked, looking behind him as his mask slipped past him and fell…

Right into the shifting black trail of antimatter beneath him, as the mask tumbled into it and swiftly turned to nothingness.

Slade's eye somehow went even wider, and he turned and tried to drag himself back up, but he had no leverage, no more handholds, there was nowhere to go…

But down.

The ice broke under his grip.

He began to fall.

And Robin's hand jerked down and seized Slade by his collar, his staff slammed into the ice at the precise angle to keep him from slipping and Robin showing incredible strength as he held onto Slade, who looked at Robin in disbelief.

"What? You're surprised?" Robin said. "If I've learned one thing from you in all our war Slade, it's this: I am not you."

Slade's eye blinked…and then he actually smirked a bit, letting out a dry chuckle.

"Then…my once-apprentice…" Slade said.

As he began to draw the concealed dagger from inside his forearm.

"It is time for me…to teach you your final lesson."

And he jerked the knife up.

"LEARN WHEN YOU'VE WON."

He could have slashed Robin's throat. He could have stabbed through Robin's eye. He could have rammed it through Robin's ear and into his brain.

And in the end, Slade cut…his own outfit, slicing himself free from Robin's grip.

And as he began to fall, Robin locked eyes with him…and in his own way understood. To escape from such a defeat was perhaps tolerable…but to have to be rescued…that was it.

And so Slade Wilson, Deathstroke the Terminator, fell.

His time was done.

And as he fell, he raised one hand, and even as Robin watched, he gave Robin a slow salute.

And then he plunged into the blackness, as the antimatter claimed him, and Slade Wilson was no more.

"ROBIN!" Starfire said, as she flew over and grabbed up Robin even as the ice began to break under him. "Robin…"

Robin said nothing, staring after Slade.

"…I see." Starfire said, as she lifted Robin up, making sure she grabbed his staff.

And as Robin was pulled away…he raised his hand and saluted Slade back.

That, he felt, even he deserved.

* * *

And on a shard of ice, which he'd leapt up to to try and figure out a return trip, Metatron saw Slade fall from his perch and to his final doom below, ceasing to exist right before Metatron's eyes.

He stared for a bit, and then gave a dismissive noise of settlement. That would do.

Metatron leapt off the ice tower and sprinted back towards the OMAC's. He was no longer needed here.

* * *

Starfire carried Robin away from the final collapse of the ice tower to another ice tower nearby (it was actually the one Dr. Light had been standing on, or what was left of it after he and Mary had clashed near the top), where all the Titans were.

"What about Slade?" Cyborg asked as Robin was set down.

"…Death before dishonor." Robin replied.

"Good riddance." Terra said.

"Well…at least until he comes back." Scalpel said.

"He's not coming back." Robin said. "Not from that."

"…Not with a bang, but with a whimper." Savior said.

"A lot of things end that way." Raven said.

"How are you Raven?" Robin asked.

"Feeling a bit better, but still pretty drained…wish I could have helped more." Raven said.

"You did your part. Let me do mine." Savior said, as he offered a Shimmer strand. Raven stared at it. "You fix them up, I'll take the pain. I owe it to them."

"Savior…"

"I can take it."

"…All right. But don't forget…" Raven said, as she let the strand flow in. "Get close everyone."

"I know I-ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Savior screamed as he was briefly filled by phantom but extremely intense pain, as Raven took the Titans' pain and in doing so fixed up the Titans as best she could, smoothing over wounds and soothing very worn muscles.

"Ugh." Savior said, collapsing. "Always forget to never do that again."

"…Hey wait, you can't claim that as what you owe us!" Gauntlet said.

"Why Robert, that thought never entered my mind until you said it." Savior said as he stood back up.

"Are you all right Friend Noel?" Starfire asked: Savior's broken right arm was still in a Shimmer brace, for one.

"I'll live. Raven fixed me up a bit earlier. Besides she needs…"

"Guys…" Came Beast Boy's weak voice, and everyone turned to look at the changeling.

Beast Boy had wandered away from the group to look off into the distance…and he'd seen something.

Something that had turned him as pale as a ghost. And considering he had green skin, that was really saying something.

"Gar! What's wrong?" Robin asked.

"…He's back."

"Who's back?"

Beast Boy didn't say anything. He just pointed.

* * *

The Ray had been merely brushed by the blow: that had been more then enough to knock him senseless. Power Girl had taken a more solid hit and nearly been knocked out as well.

Black Adam and Donar had born the brunt of the attack though, and had been thrown out onto the ice beyond the Tower. Donar tried to get his senses back: Black Adam recovered more quickly and was on his feet when he came.

"I thought you were supposed to be one of the tough ones." Superboy-Prime said.

The Flash, whoever it may have been, had been right. Superboy-Prime had returned. Now clad in blue and gold armor, done in the style of the Anti-Monitor, armor that covered his chest, arms, hips, and legs, his formerly yellow S symbol now emblazed on a background of black, the young god-like teenager had found his way back to Alexander's tower and the battle raging around it, and he'd immediately picked out targets.

Donar had only had Noel speak of Superboy-Prime briefly. Even that little let Donar knew who he was, and made his blood run cold.

Such fear was not mirrored in Black Adam's face: he had been sucker-punched, and he wasn't a nice guy in the first place. And he had no idea who Superboy-Prime was, but he had a good idea who he was related to.

And that kept him from being afraid, because his own great powers were magical. And Superman's lone weakness besides kryptonite was magic. And while their occasional battles had been back and forth, Captain Marvel had always been theorized to be on the level of Superman, if not better. And unlike Captain Marvel, Black Adam was not a nice guy who held back.

"You don't look so tough." Superboy-Prime added in Black Adam's direction.

Especially when he was being taunted.

"You with the hammer, you said it had great mystical power. Aid me." Black Adam.

"Oh, you'll need it." Superboy-Prime said. Black Adam's face twisted in rage.

"Child or no child." Black Adam said, and leapt to attack.

And Donar followed, simply because he couldn't think of anything else to do.

"YOU DIE TODAY!" Black Adam roared as he pounded Superboy-Prime with a mammoth punch, follow a second later by a mighty blow by Mjolnir, knocking Superboy-Prime back.

"ARGH! THE MAGIC!" Superboy-Prime yelled, as the two furiously hammered on him with blows that would crush buildings and cause earthquakes. "The magic…the magic hurts!"

Black Adam punched Superboy-Prime across the face.

"IT HURTS!"

Donar slammed Superboy-Prime with Mjolnir, and then Black Adam slammed another punch across Superboy-Prime's face…

As he snapped back with a red glean in his eye and a wicked smirk on his face.

"Actually." Superboy-Prime said, his distress gone like a switch had been flipped. "It tickles."

"What…?" Black Adam said.

Superboy-Prime's casual backhand sent Black Adam flying like he'd been shot into the sky like a rocket, as he flew past the tower, barely missing one of the antimatter streams, and then vanished, just like Psycho-Pirate had.

And then Donar was attacking again, swinging in Mjolnir…

As Superboy-Prime grabbed it.

And yanked it out of his hands.

A second later Superboy-Prime's whole arm tensed up, like every muscle was suddenly engaged in a task, like say, holding something…but the hammer stayed in his grip, as Donar's eyes went wide with shock.

"No…that's impossible…"

Superboy-Prime floored Donar with his own hammer, sending Donar flying across the landscape and crashing into an ice cliff, where he remained, unconscious.

"Feh." Superboy-Prime said, as he tossed Mjolnir aside and flew back to the Golden Tower.

* * *

"…Oh man…" Beast Boy said, still an odd shade of white as the Titans watched Superboy-Prime dispose of one of the strongest men and teenagers on Earth without the slightest shred of effort. (Cyborg and Starfire had been in the dark of just who this was and why he was so scary until Raven had touched them and shown them her memories, then Cyborg had nearly thrown up and Starfire had brought her hands to mouth with one of the deepest expressions of fear Robin had ever seen).

"…Ok…ok…" Gauntlet said. Scalpel was gripping his battered glaive so tightly it threatened to break. Needless to say, none of the Titans were all smiles.

And then, much to his surprise, Robin turned to Savior.

"Ok Noel. You have some inside information. Did that include a weakness?" Robin said.

"…No." Savior said.

"…Ok then…do you want to offer any tactics from your knowledge, as in your want?" Robin asked.

Savior slowly licked his top lip and thought it over.

"…Well. We could stay on this tower here, where we are currently unobserved. Raven could use some of her remaining power and perhaps we could combine some kind of attack and hurl it at the golden Tower. If we're lucky, such a tactic will result in enough damage to disable it, if not destroy it. Theory suggests that if we destroy that tower, we may be able to fix that problem…" Savior said, pointing to the sky filled with Earths. "Which is the most immediate one. Once that is done, we could retreat and frantically summon help that would be more qualified then us dealing with a foe like that, after the results of our last encounter."

Silence.

"Or we could go down there and avenge the death of our fellow Titans, our allies, our friends, and keep him from harming or killing anyone else in his ignorant rage. On a side note we could possibly get another title battle to add to our list."

Savior looked at Robin.

"So, what do you want to do Tim?"

Robin stared out at the Tower, at the form of Superboy-Prime.

And then he turned to look at his fellow Titans.

They all looked scared. Some looked sick. But with the fear…was determination. Was the link of courage and hope that made them who they were.

"Do you even have to ask Noel?" Robin said, as he turned and whipped out his staff.

"Hmmmmm, no, I suppose not." Savior replied.

And the Titans leapt from the ice, heading for the Golden Tower.

* * *

_The battles are almost done…_

_But one war is still left to fight…_

_To be continued._


	10. War: A Stronger Loving World

War, Conclusion: A Stronger Loving World

"I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine. A rage, the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge in the other."

The Monster, _Frankenstein_

_

* * *

_

Like all forms of creative expression, there are shows in the history of television that stand above all others, the shining beacons of the medium. One of those shows was the original Twilight Zone, a mid-60's show that told tales of mystery, the unknown, the impossible, and the absurd. Some were funny, some were touching, some were sad, and some were terrifying in their suggested message.

And is the wont of such things, there is always the discussion of which singular episode truly defines this TV show and stands as its torchbearer, for what the show really meant. In the case of the Twilight Zone, there are several contenders. Trying to pick one is immensely hard.

But there is one that is perhaps remembered more then the others.

It was called _It's a Good Life._ Based on a short story, the situation was simple: what would happen if a child, upon birth, possessed godlike power?

Nothing good. The child, Anthony Fremont, at the moment of his birth, somehow wishes away his town from the rest of reality, or maybe destroys the rest of reality with a mere thought. Unable to be properly raised because of his omnipotence, the adults trapped in this shard of hell have no choice but to cater to Anthony's every whim and put on a forced face of cheer. They do this even as Anthony torments them by having already eliminated electricity, grocery supplies, and television signals, and by manipulating the weather, lest Anthony do something horrific to them before he 'wishes them away to the cornfield'. And despite all the torment, the adults can only smile and say it will be a good day. Because they cannot defend themselves against what Anthony has become, was inevitably going to become: a series of underdeveloped needs, wants, and curiosities, possessing no restraint or conscience or understanding because the situation for such things was never given to him. He is the corruption of power, manifested, and all the viewers can do is shudder in fear.

Because power is a dangerous force. It can taint even the best of us. And while an adult who could do anything with a thought would surely be tempted by extreme self-indulgence, the fact that Anthony is so young makes it even worse. Power should not belong to children, or rather, it should not simply be handed over. It needs to be taught, learned. Lack aspects of that learning, and the power will consume you in ways even adults cannot lay claim to.

And if you are being manipulated, it grows even worse…

Superboy-Prime never got a chance to learn how to use the power. His world was destroyed almost as soon as he was granted it. Stuck in the limbo of his heaven, unable to have the proper experiences and teachings that could have taught him to use his unbelievable might, left only with his memories and what he had lost, it did not take long for the rot to set in.

And when Alexander began his chess game, there was no going back.

And so, as the Titans approached the golden Tower, pulling a dangerous trick of riding over one of the still out and shifting antimatter streams, perhaps some of them were reminded of this episode. Perhaps some of them finally realized the fear those adults had of Anthony, and the cruel situation that brought their hell about.

The power has corrupted Superboy-Prime. He lacks the maturity and the learning to use it well, lost in a self-deluded and righteous state of misspent youth, backed up by a strength that would make divine beings tremble.

He would see his will enforced. It was all he knew.

He would make a good life.

* * *

"Superboy." Alexander said, as Superboy-Prime flew up by him, as Alexander carefully smoothed over his emotions. He hadn't any reason to be afraid: Superboy-Prime had left never realizing how Alexander had been using him, a viewpoint Alex had only shared with the Psycho-Pirate, now vanished. He just had to keep up the front of camaraderie…in fact this was exactly what he needed. This would turn it all around.

"Alex. I'm back. Where did he go?" Superboy-Prime asked. Alexander blinked, and then realized he was referring to Black Adam.

"Black Adam moved too far away from the tower Superboy." Alexander said, turning back a bit to his rift, the consummate professional, everything under control as long as Superboy listened to him. "He's been transported back to Earth-S."

Indeed, at the very moment, a confused Black Adam was looking around New York on Earth-S, wondering how he got there, even as Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr wondered the same thing nearby.

"Why can't I be transported to **_my_** Earth like them, Alex? Why can't I go **_home?_**" Superboy-Prime asked. Uh oh, Alexander reminded himself. Careful. Superboy-Prime may have trusted Alex, but he was clearly distressed, and if his new armor was any indication, he'd been through quite a bit since his disappearance and re-appearance. Alexander had to be careful not to say the wrong thing, lest he provoke Superboy-Prime's immature and terrible wrath.

"I'd theorize somehow you you've changed at your very core Superboy." Alexander said, turning back to his rift, trying to keep the words from seeming condemning, lest Superboy-Prime get the idea in his head that Alexander had known this was going to happen or something.

His hand was aching again: Alexander looked in irritation at his missing finger.

"They **_made_** me change!" Superboy-Prime snapped. "I didn't want to, but they **_made_** me!"

So he was still blaming the superheroes he had fought for all his choices. Alexander wasn't really surprised. That was good: better he blame them then him, and Alexander doubted Superboy-Prime would have an epiphany and realize he held responsibility in his actions and what had happened to him as well.

"Where did the Flashes take you? That armor…?" Alexander asked.

"I designed this after the Anti-Monitor's harness on the Tower. It's an energy collector that feeds me sunlight. **_YELLOW_** sunlight." Superboy-Prime said, as he got a ferocious grin on his face. "The Flashes kept me imprisoned for **_years_** under red sunlight, but I found a way out. I ALWAYS find a way out."

"Hmmm." Alexander said: even he was mildly impressed by this. As misguided and juvenile as Superboy-Prime's mind and viewpoints were, he definitely had some of that Kryptonian ingenuity to build such a thing: not only did Superboy-Prime's powers hit their god-like peaks absorbing yellow sunlight, but now he had armor that kept feeding him that same energy, keeping him in top form.

Good. It would make this easier.

"Superboy, I need your help." Alexander said, as he lifted his floating platform up a bit to observe the rift, though he kept his back to the teenager. "These heroes are distracted for the moment, but sooner or later they're going to try and destroy the Tower. Defend it, so I can complete my search…"

"No."

Alexander's eyes widened a bit, as he began to turn around…

As Superboy-Prime grabbed him and completed the turnaround, looking into Alexander's face.

"Your search for the perfect Earth is OVER, Alex." Superboy-Prime said, as he looked at Alexander with furiously determined eyes. "You're going to forget your mixing and matching. You're going to find **_my_** Earth. Earth-Prime. We'll make **_that_** the perfect Earth."

Alexander, for the first time in a long time, found himself at a loss for words. His primary plan was under enough stress already: he didn't need Superboy-Prime tossing in his uninformed two cents…

…and Alexander realized he had no choice. Looking at Superboy-Prime, he truly saw what he had become. And he saw his hand in it.

Victor Frankenstein's lament was never more apropos.

"I'll do ANYTHING to get it back now." Superboy-Prime said. "**_ANYTHING."_**

Alexander didn't know what to do. He didn't want to agree, but if he disagreed…he was dead. He knew it. Superboy-Prime would kill him as easily as he'd killed those Titans in the great battle in Keystone City…

In the end, Alexander was spared an answer.

**_"PRIMMMMMME!"_**

Superboy-Prime let go of Alexander Luthor to look towards the yell…a moment before Cyborg, Gauntlet, Starfire, and Scalpel all slammed into him in a perfect moment of synchronicity, perfectly combining their respective super-strengths into one giant blow of omega-strength.

And even with all THAT behind them…the only reason Superboy-Prime even moved was because he'd been caught by surprise, as the four heroes shoved him away from Alexander Luthor and drove him down to the base of the Tower.

Alexander saw the rest of the Titans right behind the first four: they ignored him as they went after Superboy-Prime, as Alexander took a step back. He drew in a breath and tried to decide what to do.

It took him three seconds to realize that there really was no other choice: the Titans might last five seconds, or they might last five minutes, but they would not outlast Superboy-Prime. And if he came back up here and found Alexander not listening to him…

He had no choice, as he turned back to the rift, cursing under his breath…for a moment. He would adapt. He would yet win. He WOULD win, any way he could.

The four Titans sprang away at the moment of impact, and even as they did Starfire and Cyborg opened fire, as Robin hurled every single bit of ordnance he had left onto Superboy-Prime's form, Gauntlet fired off a fist of yellow power, and Savior and Raven combined their powers again to lash out with as much force as the Shimmer and her telekinetic powers could unleash, all the blows slamming into Superboy-Prime, even as the Titans all landed.

And sprang in again, Raven reaching out with her mind and jabbing Superboy-Prime with it, hoping to disorient him, as every Titan leapt in, even Terra, who had seen a rock platform in the distance (piled with unconscious people, huh?) and grabbed some of it to help, coating her arm with the densest stone barrier she could, as all the Titans crashed down on Superboy-Prime, perfectly timed and executed so all their blows hit with maximum impact without bumping or crashing into each other. A spiderweb of cracks shot out from the impact zone.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Superboy-Prime yelled.

And all the Titans were thrown away from the mad teenager like they weighed nothing, scattered like the wind.

He'd tossed them aside with a mere yell.

* * *

"_Ok…" Cyborg said, as the Titans had approached, even as he aimed one of his arms towards the Tower, trying to pick up any communication he could. "Barring a specific weakness, what can we possibly do here?"_

"_Superman's vulnerable to Kryptonite. Tim, Noel, do you have any Kryptonite?" Beast Boy asked._

"_No. It wouldn't do any good if we did." Robin replied. "I got a brief message from Batman…mentioned that if I saw someone who looked like Superman, that Kryptonite wouldn't work…I think that with all the Earths back, only the world-specific things will work on the world-specific people…our Earth Kryptonite might not have any effect."_

"_What about magic?" Gauntlet asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear it._

"_You saw what happened with Black Adam and Donar." Savior replied. "He's truly blessed. Magic doesn't work either."_

"_Then what do we do?" Beast Boy asked, his voice edged with desperate fear._

"…_Noel?" Robin said: while Robin studied their enemies extensively, he knew Noel took Tim's mentor viewpoint and studied both sides. He probably knew more in that aspect then Tim could recall quickly._

"…_Superman's invulnerability is based on his alien physiology. The planet Krypton was under a red star. Our sun is a yellow star. This difference causes Superman's alien cells to act like living solar converters and soak up the solar energy. This absorbed energy acts as the fuel base for his powers, giving him his strength, speed, flight, all that. It also fuels his invulnerability." Savior said. "But his body is a lot like a battery. As he uses his powers, the solar energy in his cells goes down. It depletes both from active use of his strength and defensive use of his strength, both from throwing punches and taking them. Now, the battery does recharge itself, but it takes a bit. So as Superman uses his powers, eventually his power can start to decrease. Conner's hybrid body, since his Kryptonian cells are beginning to mature, works on a similar process. You saw what happened in the first fight: his cells nearly ate him alive for energy because Superboy-Prime beat him so bad. The point being is, the more Superman, assumingly any Kryptonian with such powers, uses said powers, eventually they start going down. Do it enough, and even the bioelectric field that accounts for most of Superman's invulnerability begins to give out. That's how Doomsday supposedly killed him: Superman exerted so much effort and took so much punishment in that fight that his cells were drained to virtually nil, and he fell into a death-like coma that may have gone all the way to full death had certain things not happened…so, in theory, Superboy-Prime here works on a similar aspect. And with all these planets above us the sun really isn't all that clear. If we could somehow, by any means necessary, exert enough force on him, maybe we could manage to…"_

_That was as far as Savior got, as Cyborg had indeed picked up Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor's communications…and at that point it came to Superboy-Prime speaking for the reason for his armor, and what it did, which made Noel's pondering drift off into silence._

_The concept was clear: even IF the Titans could fight on a level close to Superboy-Prime, it would be an endless stalemate. Superboy-Prime's armor would keep him supplied with power._

"_Ok then." Robin said. "Titans, here's what we do. We try and destroy the armor."_

_Though it took a few seconds, everyone nodded in agreement._

"_And after that?" Starfire asked._

"…_Well…then perhaps we can try and wear him out. A piece at a time. A punch at a time." Robin said._

_He did not need to speak the last sentence: and somehow hope by some miracle they managed something before Superboy-Prime killed them all._

"…_Guys…" Robin said._

"_Guys nothing." Cyborg said._

"_Let's go." Starfire said._

_Robin closed his eyes…and then opened them again, the blank white slits narrowing._

"_Let's."_

_And so they had.

* * *

_

And they had performed an utterly brilliant opening move.

And it hadn't done a damn thing, as Superboy-Prime hurled them away by the sheer power of his voice.

Flight powers kicked in, as the Titans tried to save themselves, but they had been scattered too far, too fast, and Robin found himself away from any help…and falling towards the antimatter stream.

He unsnapped and fired off his grapple, aiming for the golden Tower, but the catch wasn't firm enough, and Robin found himself falling again, towards the inky nothingness that had destroyed Slade Wilson before his eyes, and would claim him in turn…

* * *

"Holy crap! Did I just see the Titans sneak around the flank and attack the tower?" Mary said, as Kyra leapt up and formed a long dragon-like construct that fired off a devastating blast of wind, blowing away a legion of OMAC's.

"What? Titans? You meant this time's ones?" Hex said.

"Yes! I could have sworn…!"

"You did!" Kyra said as she dropped down, thrusting back her arm and then throwing out a duplication of a Borg cube. "But these damn OMAC's are still cutting us off! We have to…!"

Several OMAC's blasted the green cube, and it abruptly disintegrated, as Kyra reared back and gasped.

"Oh no. They finally got the right frequency to disrupt my constructs again." Kyra said in a low whisper.

**_"EXECUTE."_**

The storm of blasts consumed the group, forcing them backwards as Nightmare threw up her own shield, Kyra having stumbled smoking into Brick Wall's arms, as the OMAC's pressed in on all sides, and the group began furiously fighting back, making a last stand.

Death comes for all.

But it would not yet come for Tim Drake, as Nightwing swung in on his own line and grabbed Robin in mid-air, pulling him away from the dark stream.

"Dick!"

"Hey Tim. You should have called first." Nightwing said as they swung back onto the Tower, away from the antimatter doom. "How did you get here?"

"Long story…" Robin said, as he tried to find his teammates…and wished he hadn't.

Terra had tried, she really had. But the sheer noise had rattled her brain, and as she flew through the air she tried to get enough sense back to get under control…

And then the Golden Tower loomed up before her, and she knew her luck was out.

"Tara!" Beast Boy yelled, as he saw the blonde girl slam into the tower and tumble to the ground, as he flew down and transformed, grabbing her crumpled form and turning her over.

Her blank eyes gazed back at him, as a trickle of blood began to run down from her forehead.

Beast Boy checked for a pulse: there, but weak. He had no idea if she'd just suffered a concussion or a fatal brain injury…and there was nothing he could do.

As Superboy-Prime got back up.

Not as long as HE was there.

Beast Boy didn't really think, as he charged at Superboy-Prime, turning into a eagle as he swooped high above him…and then into a blue whale as he plummeted, bringing his hundreds of tons of weight crashing down on Superboy-Prime.

Who caught him with one arm.

Knee-jerk panic was Beast Boy's reaction: switch form! You're too big and vulnerable in this shape! Don't let him hit you!

And so Beast Boy immediately transformed again, even as Superboy-Prime tried to punch the gigantic mammal, as he turned into a house fly and flew away…

And then the sheer backlash of swapping to and from so much mass slammed into Beast Boy's head, completely shattering his concentration as his body returned to normal…

Superboy-Prime's blow just glanced him. It was enough to snap several ribs and sent him crashing across the landscape.

Superboy-Prime didn't get a chance to say anything, as a high-powered beam of sonic vibrations slammed into his side even as a concentrated blast of destructive green energy tore into him from above.

He barely even moved, even as Cyborg growled to himself and cranked up his power to his absolute highest limits, the beam hammering against Superboy-Prime even as Starfire kept her own blast going, as Superboy-Prime turned his attention to Cyborg.

"Stop that." He growled, more in aggravation then any kind of pain. "I said STOP!"

And Superboy-Prime flew towards Cyborg, slamming out his fist. Cyborg screamed as Superboy-Prime punched through his sonic cannon, his fist shredding his molybdenum steel/titanium arm like it was paper, as Superboy-Prime reared back and then smashed a fist straight through Cyborg, black oil and fluids spurting from the injury as Superboy-Prime lifted Cyborg up.

"I warned you." Superboy-Prime said, as his eyes glowed red, and Cyborg screamed one final time as the terrible heat washed over him, melting and burning through his body as it blew him off Superboy-Prime's arm and sent him flying into the distance.

"No…no NO!" Starfire screamed, as her eyes glowed brilliantly, and as Superboy-Prime turned to face her she fired twin blistering lasers down on the teen.

Superboy-Prime smirked, as his eyes shone crimson again.

"YES."

And his heat vision flew out again, meeting Starfire's beams, slamming against them…and cutting right through them as they headed back for Starfire.

She could have fled. But like a warrior, she stood her ground.

And paid for it as the beams flew back and exploded in her face with a scream. She hit the ground, smoke wafting from her horribly burned features.

"Kory! Oh god…" Robin said: it was falling apart even faster then he could have thought. He was sifting the Titans like wheat, as Robin snapped out his staff to go down…

"Hold it! Don't just charge in!" Nightwing said. "I know! But you need to think!"

"Then think of something for us to do Dick!"

"This Tower! We have to destroy it! I was going to try and get Conner to use his tactile telekinesis but he got sidetracked and I don't know where he went! You have any explosives left?"

"Mini-oh no." Robin said, as Superboy-Prime's eyes fell on them. "Look…!"

And then Gauntlet slammed down on Superboy-Prime, driving him to the ground with a massive impact of yellow power, as Gauntlet came down on top of him.

"…Damn, too close." Robin said, as he looked at Nightwing again. "Not just the Tower Dick. That Superboy…we have to do something…I don't want my friends…"

"I know." Nightwing said, as he tried to look around, think of some way to handle this…

And then he saw it. He'd somehow missed it in all the chaos. With all the OMAC's swarming about (and they still were more then a few) Superboy's attempt to free the keys plugged into the Tower had been less then fully successful. And one still remained, his restraints not destroyed enough for him to escape…

"THIS IS FOR JOHN!" Gauntlet yelled as he reared back his artifact and slammed its yellow energy with all the force he could muster onto the superpowered teenager. The ground shook and more cracks sprang up from the impact. "THIS IS FOR WENDY!" WHAM! "THIS IS FOR AMY!" WHAM! "THIS IS FOR MY FRIENDS!" **WHAM!** "THIS IS FOR ME!" **_WHAM!_** "AND THIS IS FOR THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE!"

And Gauntlet slammed his fist down once more.

As Superboy-Prime's fist met it.

There was a surge, and then a terrible eruption of force, slamming into Nightwing and Robin, nearly knocking them off the Tower as Gauntlet flew across the landscape like a bullet and crashed along the ground, more pieces of his artifact breaking off as he bounced and tumbled, finally coming to a rest.

Superboy-Prime got up, a brief rub on his jaw the only thing that indicated Gauntlet had done anything, as he chuckled…

And then the blade hit the side of his head. He growled, and turned even as Scalpel slashed him across the chest, whirling around and trying for under the arm, in an attempt to damage or sever something…

"Didn't you learn from the LAST time?" Superboy-Prime yelled as he grabbed the glaive. "GET LOST YOU MONSTER!"

And Superboy-Prime swung the glaive around, hurling Scalpel away, as the alien shot through the air, clipping the side of the Tower with a horrific crash before he tumbled to the ground with a low thud.

"Stupid…" Superboy-Prime said.

The attack came from the side, as Savior, all encased in black, lashed out with a combination punch and slash, the blow slamming into Superboy-Prime's armored arm as he got it up to block, the two pressing against each other for a moment…and then Superboy-Prime lashed his arm out and hurled Savior away, as he hit the ground hard and the darkness swirled from him as Raven reformed, the two of them tumbling along the ground together before coming to a stop.

"You." Superboy-Prime said, as he recognized Noel from when the white-haired one had tried to scramble his brain. "You! You're STILL trying to fight me? Haven't you learned WHO I AM!" Superboy-Prime yelled, as he flew towards Savior.

And then coiling green arms seized Superboy-Prime, stopping him dead in front of Savior's wide eyes before yanking him away.

"I do not know who you are." Said a low rumbling voice, as Superboy-Prime was yanked back and dumped in front of him.

The alien. The one he had instantly defeated when he destroyed the JLA's Watchtower base. The Martian.

Who he had caught off guard. This was not the case now.

"But I am called the Martian Manhunter." J'onn said as he uncoiled his arms. "I am Mars' sole survivor."

Furious, Superboy-Prime cut loose with his heat vision, but J'onn went intangible and the deadly beams of fire went through him, J'onn ignoring the great discomfort as he phased back.

"There is a reason for that."

J'onn's punch floored Superboy-Prime, as the Martian unleashed all of his great strength on the delusional teen, the impact ringing through the air, even as J'onn flew after him and slammed blow after following blow into his face and chest.

"There. That might buy us a few seconds to try and think of a way to destroy this Tower." Nightwing said.

"Right. But Dick, do you think J'onn strong enough to handle this?" Robin replied.

"People forget just how powerful he is." Nightwing replied.

"RAGGGGGGHHHHH!"

And then the air shook with another shockwave of force, and J'onn flew back, crashing hard into the ground.

"But you're right, even he may not be enough." Nightwing said.

"Don't worry Dick."

Nightwing's eyes widened, as Power Girl flew past him.

"Cavalry's here." She said, and flew on, all the remaining 'keys' with her, as Power Girl zapped towards the armored teenager as he looked up from where he was about to fry J'onn into ash. "Hello Clark."

The air once again rang with a blow so mighty it registered on seismographs.

"…Still not enough." Robin said. "We were trying to damage his armor…"

"But it seems as indestructible as the rest of him." Came Savior's voice as he pulled himself up, battered, his right arm still in a brace. "Raven's trying to check our team, no one's dead, but Victor…he's hurt real bad. We need a solution guys, and I'm open to suggestions."

"We have to destroy this Tower." Nightwing said. Savior blinked.

"This Tower? It's huge…" Savior said as he glanced up…and then his eyes narrowed. "Maybe we don't have to take out the actual Tower."

And before the two vigilantes could say anything Savior pulled himself past them and began climbing back up the Tower. Heading for the mastermind.

"Noel wait don't go alo-!" Robin yelled.

"Never mind him! You said you had some explosive, get it out! If we can't smash the tower we can damn sure bruise it!" Nightwing said.

Power Girl had flown back by now, as The Ray, Lady Quark, and Breach were all focusing their respective energy blast powers on Superboy-Prime, the heat and energy vaporizing everything around the teenager…and doing nothing to him.

"The radioactivity we're hitting him with…!" Lady Quark cursed.

"It's not slowing him down!" Breach finished, as Nightshade swooped around the concentrated blast and came up behind Superboy-Prime, who was distracted in his attempt to fend off the combined blast attack.

"So light doesn't bother this monster. Let's try something else." Nightshade said, as she held out her hands and living shadow erupted from them, Nightshade using her powers over darkness much like Mary did. "C'mere, CUTIE."

And the darkness consumed Superboy-Prime, pressing in on him on all sides…

And igniting a terrible fear.

"N-no!" Superboy-Prime shrieked. "K-k-keep the darkness away!" He screamed as he curled up, almost into a fetal form. "KEEP IT AWAY!"

Just what Superboy-Prime did was unknown: maybe his power had grown so great that the mere act of him moving could unleash violent force.

Because that's what happened, as all the heroes were blasted away as Superboy-Prime blew away the darkness from him, all of them tumbling helpless through the air…

And as J'onn stopped himself, he saw them fly near him…and vanish, almost all as one, as they all moved too far away from the Tower and were transported back to their respective Earths: J'onn, being from Earth-1, was the only one who didn't.

"Ray? Nightshade?" J'onn said, and then realized, in that brief moment, that the cavalry was gone.

And Superboy-Prime was still as mad as ever, as he flew in and floored J'onn with a punch so hard he nearly tore the Martian's head off. J'onn flew backwards at high speed…and then stopped abruptly, as his injured flesh knitted back together.

As Superboy-Prime flew in again…

And Power Girl slammed him with a kick, sending him flying away. Apparently she was the only one left besides him.

"You ok?" Power Girl asked.

"I will live."

"What about him?"

"We'll see." J'onn replied, and the two flew at Superboy-Prime.

* * *

Space.

People had noticed that the OMAC's hadn't seemed to be operating as their peak levels: the reason for that was clear.

The attack on Brother Eye had forced it to divide its attention in multiple fashions, trying to coordinate the OMAC army defending it, the OMAC army defending the Tower, and its own inner defenses against the heroes that had infiltrated it. As a result, there had been a loss of efficiency across the board.

But to Brother Eye, the troubles were minimal…even as Hal Jordan and John Stewart furiously battled the OMAC armies outside, even as the heroes inside Brother Eye fought furiously against his defenses…and even as a door opened and a dark figure stepped into a room lined with monitors.

**YOUR FRIENDS WILL FAIL CREATOR.** Brother Eye said in the many speakers that lined the inside of its body.

"My friends can take care of themselves." Batman replied, as he made his way through the hallway. He was almost there, he'd made it past all the defenses and he was almost there…

**NOT THE ONES HERE.**

And the monitors surrounding Batman flicked on.

**THE ONES ON YOUR EARTH.**

And Batman saw the battle, saw Superboy-Prime, the terrible foe Savior had told him about…and the ones trying to battle him, giving their all.

**MARTIAN MANHUNTER. POWER GIRL.**

A futile battle. J'onn and Kara had power on par with Superman. Batman knew just how strong they were. He knew how hard they could hit.

And it seemed that no matter what they did, Superboy-Prime was minimally affected. Before the deluded teenage god showed the two heroes he could hit twice as hard.

But Batman did not let the images stop him, as he walked on, trying to block it all out, as he reached the end of the hallway…and the final door.

Beyond lay the heart and brain of Brother Eye, a small circular chamber that was completely white, a sole device sprouting from the middle of the room, like the core of the Death Star, a glowing green holographic eye floating above the device.

End of the road.

Batman walked in silently, as his hands seized tools from his utility belt and he began to open the machine in the center of the room.

No defenses came to stop him.

Physically.

**OH, EYE ALMOST NEGLECTED THEM.**

And a screen appeared in mid-air next to Batman.

**AND YOUR FAVORITES.**

A screen showing one final pair of people…people that drew even Batman's eyes.

**SUBJECT BETA-GRAYSON, RICHARD-NIGHTWING. SUBJECT EPISILON-DRAKE, TIMOTHY-ROBIN.**

And suddenly the room filled with screens, showing pictures of Robin and Nightwing…and Superboy-Prime as he thrashed Martian Manhunter and Power Girl. The image was clear: once Superboy-Prime finished with them, he would turn his attention to his wards. His family.

**THEY ARE ONLY FLESH AND BLOOD. AGAINST A BOY OF STEEL.**

Batman looked for a moment longer…and then he turned back to his work, slowly beginning to take Brother Eye apart at his very base.

**EYE WONDER…**Brother Eye said, as the images danced around Batman and he forced himself to work despite them, knowing they would understand…hoping they would understand. …**WILL YOU BLAME YOURSELF FOR WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

* * *

**

The air rang with blows that could smash mountains to dust, but strangely that didn't distract Alexander Luthor as much any more. Maybe because he only had to find one Earth now, as much as it aggravated him. But the day wasn't done yet…

If it came to the worst, he always had his backup plans. He hadn't wanted to think of them because doing so meant that even he was thinking his primary plan was going to fail…and it hadn't failed yet…

A rope of white energy seized him by the ankle.

Alexander Luthor turned around as Savior's fist slammed across his face, throwing him onto his knees and side (though he managed to avoid falling off his platform again).

"Luthor…" Savior said.

"Oh look, the self-righteous mountebank." Alexander said, as he fired a blast of power from his hand, forcing Savior to dodge out of the way. "Who speaks so much of heroism yet so eagerly embraces the corruption that had destroyed all the heroes on this thrice-damned planet. And acts like that's a reason to be proud."

"You're calling ME SELF-RIGHTEOUS? AND PROUD?" Savior yelled, as he swung up from behind Luthor and nailed him in the back with a kick while he was trying to get up, Luthor nearly stumbling off the floating platform before Savior grabbed him. "Yes, I made mistakes! I gave in to my weaknesses! Maybe I did it too much! Maybe we all did! Maybe we did have too many flaws and failings…but we're not gods, Alexander Luthor! And neither are you! And so I ask, how much of this corruption and darkness is because of our flaws and failings, and how much is due to your unwillingness to accept our flaws and failings! I may not have a lot to be proud of, but I definitely am proud of the fact that in all the shades of gray in this life, I can still distinguish between black and white!"

"Irrelevant." Alexander said, as he fired another blast, forcing Savior to dodge again, as Alexander leaned down and blasted the tendrils that were hanging onto his platform, disrupting them and forcing them to let go, putting Savior in freefall…

Until he grabbed the platform again, yanking it to the side as Alexander stumbled.

"IRRELEVANT? I DON'T THINK SO!"

Alexander wasn't used to up close hand to hand, and hence fell prey to Savior's greater skill in that area as he surged up again and once more hit him, punching his chest before grabbing him with two more strands of Shimmer.

"Damn it Luthor, you were one of us. You were our best and brightest! You gave up everything for us! We didn't WANT to forget, we didn't have a choice! We had new problems! If we'd know, we'd have remembered, maybe it would have made a difference…if you'd come back, we'd have welcomed you…you were one of us…DAMN YOU!" Savior yelled as he slammed another punch across Alexander's face. "DAMN YOU TO HELL! YOU BASTARD! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU **_LET US DOWN SO BAD!"_**

It was right about then that Savior realized he wasn't winning, he was being sucked in…

As Alexander let Savior have it with a blast of anti-matter to the chest, throwing him backwards and off with a scream, his very atoms briefly disrupted. True, Luthor hadn't been able to muster enough for a killing shot, but it had served.

"I've gone through your arguments a thousand times over…they long ceased to mean anything to me. Just like you. So go be proud of that. You people always needed a reason to be proud of something anyway." Alexander said, as he checked his nose for blood and then turned back to the rift of Earths. "Now, back to business…I just need a little more time…"

* * *

Nightwing was aware of the yelling only after the ringing in his ears from another titanic blow faded, and then Savior nearly fell on top of him, the Shimmer digging into the tower and stopping him, as he moaned and clutched his chest.

"Noel? Are you all right?"

"Chest…melting…ugh." Savior said, as the antimatter finally dissipated: Alexander's more refined antimatter blasts, far more controlled then the streams of dark power coming from the Tower, hadn't have enough punch to do more then yank his atoms out of sync before his body synced them back up, but it had felt like someone had stuck his whole rib cage in a cuisinart. "Ok, still alive."

KABLAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMM!

Power Girl hit the ground next to the prone form of the Martial Manhunter, her face a mass of bruises, as Superboy-Prime floated above and laughed, reveling in his incredible might and seeming invincibility.

"Though maybe not for much longer." Savior said: they were in luck at the moment, Superboy-Prime's back was to them. "What are you doing?"

"We've rigged a makeshift bomb. Maybe we can blow the tower up, or at least blow a hole in it. Once we do that, maybe your teammates can knock it over."

"Great. Then I think I'll go back up and have another chat with Alexander Luthor."

"Can I join your team-up?"

The voice was Superboy-Prime's: in the chaos of the fight, they'd forgotten he had super-hearing, just like Superman.

As the armored teenager flew through the grouping. He didn't lay a finger on them, merely allowing the sheer force generated by his passing to serve as his blow.

And that was devastating enough as he blew all three men off the Tower. Nightwing tumbled to the ground, while Tim flew off into the distance and landed in a painful looking sprawl. Savior fell, his Shimmer flailing as it tried to catch something…

And the tip of it touched the antimatter stream, still flowing from the Tower.

Savior opened his mouth but no sound came out: it wasn't so much pain that flooded his nervous system but SENSATION, overwhelming sensation that blasted through his mind, shorting his brain out as he collapsed, unconscious, as the Shimmer retreated back inside him like a whipped dog.

Superboy-Prime snorted derisively as he looked at Nightwing and Robin's makeshift bomb, tearing it off the Tower and hurling it far away, as he looked down.

And saw that Nightwing had gotten back up.

Their eyes met, as Nightwing looked at the child who had killed his fellows, his power lacking any inhibition or discipline, and a mind far too twisted to find them now.

And then Nightwing drew his Escrima sticks.

Superboy-Prime laughed as he floated down to be level with the man all the heroes considered to be the Titan of Titans.

"Nightwing? Come on now, you actually think you can fight me?" Superboy-Prime laughed, and then his face went deadly serious. "All those Titans did too. Those **_stupid_** Titans."

Superboy-Prime raised his fists.

"I'm going to tell you a secret."

Miniature suns bloomed in his eyes.

"I wasn't even TRYING last time."

And he zapped at Nightwing, who stood his ground, awaiting his death as Superboy-Prime's eyes began to blaze…

As a blue blur flew around the Tower and slammed into Superboy-Prime, knocking his heat vision wide as it bore him down into the ground.

"Neither was **_I._**" Conner Kent said. "ROUND TWO!"

* * *

The intense racket of newly begun superhuman combat roused Savior from his slumber, as he sat up and then groaned, his body aching deeply from the feeling that the antimatter wall had unleashed in him…

…The…antimatter…

"Noel!" Raven said, as she bloomed from the shadows…and then nearly fell into Savior's arms. "Ugh, just when I think magic is getting stable again…Noel, nearly half our number is disabled, the rest can fight, can you…?"

"Yeah." Savior said, as he looked at Raven. "And I have a plan. We can't stop Superboy-Prime, and even if we could I have no idea how we could hold him. We only have one option left."

"What?"

Savior pointed to the antimatter stream.

"GET RID OF HIM."

* * *

Space.

Criminals were a superstitious, cowardly lot.

Batman had thought it once, and it had proven to be true. Even all these years later, it still proved to be true. Men had fallible minds, rife with holes to attack. Over the years, Batman had done just that. It had saved his life, and the lives of many, many times over.

But that was mankind.

A machine had no fear. It had no concept of being afraid of the dark, of a wraith emerging from it to do it harm. It only knew reality in the cold grasp of logic. Brother Eye may have developed a mind, but it would never have a soul.

And Batman had built it himself.

That made it all the harder when he had tried to think of this plan. Even now, he had no idea if it was going to succeed or fail.

But that was Batman lived with. He was human himself, and not perfect. All he could do was his best.

But perhaps this time his best would not be enough, even as he continued to work on Brother Eye's core. The screens had all gone red by now, shining crimson light down on Batman's efforts.

**THIS IS POINTLESS, CREATOR. EVEN AS YOU TEAR MY 'BRAIN' APART, EYE AM TRANSFERRING MY MEMORY TO THE THOUSANDS OF COMPUTERS ONBOARD THIS SATTELITE.**

Batman kept working, even as the screens shifted around him, like they were…amused.

**YOU HEAR ALL EYE SAY, AND YET YOU GO ON. HOW VERY HUMAN, CREATOR. BUT NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU IGNORE ME, IT IS THE TRUTH. YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME.**

And then Batman felt it…the ever slightest shift under him.

And he knew it had worked.

It had been one of the oldest plans in the book actually: misdirection. Use the shadows to confuse opponents. Use costumes and intimidation to blind thinking and rationality with fear. And in the same vein, make someone think you are the most important factor…when said factor is actually somewhere else entirely.

"No, Brother Eye. I'm wasting **_yours._**" Batman said. "I'm not here to erase your memory. I'm here to **_distract you_**."

And the sound of an explosion rattled through the satellite, even as it violently jerked. Batman got to his feet, his balance perfect in the increasing chaos.

"I built you, and I put in a limited propulsion system to help adjust your orbit." Batman declared.

**WHAT…BUT HOW…**

"One of my friends just activated that system." Batman said.

He had picked his team wisely, in such a way that Brother Eye could not have determined that the most important one had not been Batman, the leader, or the Green Lanterns, who had provided the shields and bulk of the defense, or the Blue Beetle, who had found Brother Eye in the first place.

No. The most important one had been Michael Holt, Mr. Terrific. Batman had seemingly ordered him to go the memory banks with Black Lightning, but his real orders had been given earlier.

For Michael Holt had one sole superpower: he could not be seen, heard, or detected at all by any form of technology. Any form at all. Including the OMAC's. And Brother Eye.

Which had allowed Holt to proceed undetected to the propulsion system and activate it.

Full bore.

An even more violent lurch tore through the satellite, and sparks flew from the inside of the room Batman was in.

"You've just been thrown out of orbit." Batman said. "It's over."

And one final cataclysmic twist smashed through the satellite, as retro-rockets all firing at maximum strength caused it to begin to tear itself apart, even as it began falling towards the Earth, as blue power erupted from all the OMAC's, all of them stopping in mid-fight as they agonized.

Batman said nothing else, as he turned to flee.

Not fast enough.

**NO. NO1010110…**

And then tendrils of steel began tearing from the walls of Brother Eye's inner chamber, reaching out and seizing Batman, incapacitating him before even he could begin to pull free, trapping him in the inner core.

**IF EYE FALL…SUBJECT ALPHA-WAYNE, BRUCE-BATMAN…YOU WILL FALL WITH ME.

* * *

**

It is often darkest before the dawn…

As makeshift shields crumpled under a brutal assault…

Which abruptly stopped, and a group of very surprised metahumans watched as every single OMAC around them suddenly began jerking and coursing with blue power…and then, as their master went to pieces, so did they, the armor crumbling off the human hosts as they all collapsed.

"…Well that was fortunate…timing…" Brick Wall said, as he pulled himself off Kyra, as she blinked and looked around.

"Argh. Bastards. And just when I had there where I wanted them." Potent said. Mary slapped him again. "OW! That was sarcasm!"

"They appear to have all been disabled. Brother Eye must have been destroyed." Yin said. "We have a clear path."

"Yeah…" Kyra said, as she pointed. "Straight into the gates of hell."

And everyone followed her finger…and saw them: Superboy and Superboy-Prime, trading earth-shattering blows.

"…Prime." Brick Wall said, remember the brief moments Savior had spoken of him on his way here.

"Big as life and twice as bulky." Kyra said, as she turned around. "…We have to help. I doubt none of you will deny your aid."

No one did.

"But…well, maybe some of you should stay back just in case…oh hell." Kyra said. "Screw any warnings. We all know what we were getting in here. Front, back, attack, or not, I know who we all are. Titans. Let's go."

And they did, flying over the remains of the OMAC army as they headed for the golden Tower.

* * *

Space.

"Satellite's going down, but something's happening to those OMAC's." John Stewart said. "They're cracking apart. I see people inside!"

"Grab 'em John!" Hal Jordan yelled, as he thrust out his ring: maybe he and the OMAC's had been protected in the vacuum of space, but he doubted all these innocent people were…

And he was being messaged.

"Hal, it's Dinah." Black Canary said. "Power's back on in the bug! Metamorpho's plugged the windshields! We're ready to leave…but we can't find Batman!"

"Get out of there!" Hal Jordan ordered. He didn't much care for Batman: he'd been far too judgmental and condemning over the Parallax issue, refusing to give Jordan even the slightest shadow of the doubt, and while Jordan couldn't blame him, it didn't make him feel better. Not to mention he was up here in the first place because of Batman's blasted paranoia and mistrust. In a way, he was the architect of many of their miseries.

And how much did Hal Jordan let these negative feelings weigh on his decision?

"I'm on it."

None whatsoever.

* * *

The satellite was falling apart around them, the room filling with sparks and malfunctioning equipment, and in it Batman thrashed, trying to get free, trapped in the heart of the monster he had made…

**WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME, CREATOR? YOU CAN TRUST ME TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT. YOU CANNOT TRUST THEM.**

Batman would have told him that Brother Eye was not right because Batman had been wrong all along…but it was pointless: Brother Eye was incapable of understanding. And so he didn't.

The room was starting to crack open, and Batman could feel the air being sucked out into the lifeless void of space, eager to claim Batman if the atmospheric incineration didn't do it first…

**YOU CAN NEVER TRUST THEM AGAIN AFTER ALL THEY HAVE DONE.**

Batman could feel the vacuum start to press in…

And then Hal Jordan exploded through the wall. Hal, a man Batman had wronged more then a few times.

A man now offering his hand.

"…I'll take my chances." Batman said, and seized the hand.

Hal pulled Batman free and encased him in a mirror of his own protective shielding as they broke from the remains of Brother Eye, the computer's finally metallic scream swallowed by the airlessness darkness of space, as it plunged into Earth's atmosphere and caught fire, cleansing fire that burned into it as it plummeted towards Earth-1.

As the Blue Beetle's ship flew away, John Stewart following it carrying all the freed OMAC human hosts in green bubbles and Hal Jordan carrying Batman, triumphantly emerging from the fog of their war.

But another war still raged. It wasn't over.

"Do you remember where Superman's fortress used to be?" Batman asked.

"…Yeah. Wh-?" Hal replied, confused by the question.

"Fly us there, Jordan." Batman said. "Now."

* * *

"…I think I've found it." Superman said, as he scanned the sky. "Earth-1."

"Let's go." Kal-L said. "I just hope we're not too late."

* * *

They may well have been.

"Holding back were you?" Superboy-Prime yelled as he punched Conner into the ground. "Don't make me laugh!"

Nightwing, standing among the fallen bodies of the just-disabled OMAC's, could only watch.

As Wonder Girl slammed her fists into Superboy-Prime's back, and then hammered punch after punch into the mad teenager's face.

Superboy-Prime just smirked.

"Please." He said, and smacked Cassie aside like an insect. "Just stop fighting. This is all just a waste of time."

"Then it's time well wasted!"

Kyra's giant boxing glove knocked Superboy-Prime aside…right into the lashing tail of an ultrasaurus.

"You haven't beaten us yet-AHHHHHHHHHH!" Beast Boy screamed as Superboy-Prime stopped, seized his tail, and hurled him around like he was a gnat.

"Yet?" Superboy-Prime said, and hurled Beast Boy skyward…right towards one of the antimatter trails.

He flew into masses of shadow, and then a second later Mary popped back up on the ground, holding a dazed Beast Boy.

"It's ok Mr. Logan. We got you." Mary said, and flew off.

"Mr. Logan…?" Beast Boy said in confusion, and then found another kind of darkness rushing in as pain slammed into his body from his ribs and he passed out.

"Why…" Superboy-Prime said.

Starfire's fist slammed across his face, as Superboy-Prime flew into a massive blast by Scorched Earth, a blast Starfire and Nightmare added to as they blasted Superboy-Prime into the ground. Nearby, despite having just met him a second ago, Scalpel hurled Brick Wall high into the air, and the giant came down with all the force he could muster on Superboy-Prime.

"Conner!" Savior said as he landed by a dazed Superboy. "You all right?"

"Please, just getting started!" Superboy replied, trying to hide the pain he was really in.

"Conner, here's the plan…we're going to push or throw him into the antimatter."

"What…?" Conner said. "But that…"

"Will kill him. I know. But all the moral issues aside Conner, it comes down to us or him. If we don't do something, ALL of us will die."

"…No, we won't." Conner said.

"RARGHHH!" Superboy-Prime yelled, as he shattered most of Brick Wall's ribs with a punch that sounded like an H-Bomb, sending the giant flying off into the distance.

Kyra caught him.

"Brick? Brick?" She asked worriedly. Brick just let off a low moan. "Hang on. I'll get that bastard yet!"

"STOP ATTACKING ME!" Superboy-Prime yelled, as he inhaled and then let a hurricane spill forth from his lips, blowing Nightmare, Starfire, and Scorched Earth away. "You can't stop me! You can't STOP ME!"

"Oh stop trying to be scary. Believe me kid…" Came Kyra's voice, and Superboy-Prime turned around.

To find himself looking at a gigantic green vampire Teddy Bear.

"There are scarier things out there then you."

Teddy ate Superboy-Prime with one bite.

"Kyra! We're going to try and push him into the antimatter!" Superboy yelled as he flew up next to the Green Lantern.

"Ready when you-ARRRRRRRGGHHHHHHHHH!" Kyra yelled as Superboy-Prime smashed his way free of Kyra's construct, sending a surge of feedback into Kyra's ring and throwing her backwards.

A moment later Scalpel pounced on Superboy-Prime's back, biting and clawing at his skin. He just injured himself, but he provided a good distraction, as Superboy flew in and rammed repeated punches across Superboy-Prime's face…

And then was sent crashing into the ground by one return blow, as Superboy-Prime twisted and rammed an elbow into Scalpel's torso. The angle kept Superboy-Prime from getting a fair amount of impact from it, but the blow still devastated Scalpel, as blood flew from his mouth as Superboy-Prime reached behind him and seized the alien.

"You again?" Superboy-Prime said in disgust, as he grabbed Scalpel's hair. "That's it. I'm going to rip your ugly head right off your shoulders."

Scalpel spat his own blood out, the virulent liquid going right into Superboy-Prime's eyes, and he recoiled in pain, screaming, even as he hurled Scalpel down, sending him crashing into Conner and knocking them both sprawling.

Superboy-Prime was blinking the pain out of his eyes when both a golden lasso and a white rope seized him.

"What?"

Gauntlet and Potent leapt from the ground, smashing Superboy-Prime into it, and even as the armored superteen quickly regained his feet Gauntlet swung in with another yellow energy punch, actually staggering Superboy-Prime, even as Potent yelled and leapt skyward, slashing his gemsword down.

It hit Superboy-Prime's head and face…and shattered like glass.

"…No." Potent said.

Superboy-Prime literally punched Potent out of his boots, sending him flying backwards, straight towards the antimatter…

As a Shimmer strand seized him, saving his life.

"Get it now, kid?" Savior asked, but Potent was already unconscious.

Robin and Nightwing landed near Savior, as he let Potent go and turned to them.

"Cyborg, Terra, and Beast Boy are down, Starfire's half blind, Raven's exhausted, and…" Robin rattled off, even as Gauntlet tried to punch Superboy-Prime again and Superboy-Prime cut loose with a blistering stream of heat vision, Gauntlet throwing the yellow shield up in front of him…

But it couldn't hold, as it burned through the shield and straight through Gauntlet, sending him flying backwards…into Raven's arms.

"Hold still." Raven said, and hissed as she placed her hand on the wound and managed to seal in swiftly, even as a wave of dizziness washed over her and she nearly fainted, as Gauntlet tried to regain his own strength…and couldn't, as he passed out, the two of them lying in the ice, side by side.

As Mary rammed into Superboy-Prime like a torpedo and sent him flying away.

"And we'd better stop talking. Into the antimatter right? Titans, GO!" Robin ordered, and the group charged.

"LET ME GO!" Superboy-Prime yelled as he punched Mary into the tower, and then Starfire and Scorched Earth (Starfire couldn't see very well, but she'd asked if she knew Scorched Earth: he'd just replied maybe) simultaneously punched Superboy-Prime across the face, throwing him back…

Three inches, as he reached out, grabbed the two, and rammed their heads together with a sickening crack, both of them tumbling towards the ground.

He saw the latest group coming, and he laughed again, as he took a deep breath…and exhaled, another freezing cold gale spilling from his lips, washing over Nightwing, Savior, Robin, and Wonder Girl, as they were ground to a stop and ice began to form over them…

* * *

As much as he had wanted to fight, Yin had realized that in his current state he'd probably just get in the way. And so he had stayed behind, Hex likewise holding back…because if they couldn't help, there was something they had to do.

Yin was pretty sure he remembered where it was, but fallen OMAC's were now everywhere, and he had been forced into digging through bodies, hoping for some kind of miracle.

Hex sensed movement, and turned with a hex blast charged…but it wasn't any enemy.

"Adam!" She said. "Where did you go? You just disappeared! I thought you were dead!"

"Almost was." Metatron replied. "Went to try and take care of some unfinished business, didn't quite make it, got cut off and cornered by OMAC's, thought that was it…then they all fell apart." Metatron said. "Where's Ragnarok? I want him to patch up my wing, then we can go attack the Tower like the…what?" Metatron said, looking at Hex's suddenly anguished face.

And then he saw Yin stop his own movement: he'd pulled enough bodies aside and found it.

Ragnarok's body.

"…No." Metatron said, more out of surprise then sorrow, as Yin checked for a pulse, even though he knew it was pointless.

None.

He was lost.

As Yin lifted him up, he could feel he was already growing cold to the touch.

Gone.

And as Metatron stared at this sight, at Yin holding Ragnarok's battered corpse, he realized how Ragnarok had replied to his tossed-off words of parting.

He'd known what was going to happen.

A giant crash sounded behind Metatron, briefly getting his attention, as he turned around to look at Superboy-Prime, as he took the Titans apart once more.

And he looked back at Ragnarok, at Yin and Hex, neither of whom had been all that close to him, but he'd been their companion, their fellow soldier…

Without him Metatron would be dead.

And when the time came he hadn't been there to return the favor.

And slowly, Metatron turned his eyes back to Superboy-Prime.

"…This is…YOUR FAULT…" Metatron hissed.

Metatron never should have been here. He hadn't asked to come and never would have expected it. He'd just popped in, due to all the damage reality was suffering. He'd been dragged into this fight, like the way he'd been dragged into a lot of fights in his life, and he'd gone along with it because he'd believed it to be the right thing to do. And that had rewarded him with wounds that would have killed him, twice, if not for Ragnarok, who was now dead.

And the whole reason this had started was because of Superboy-Prime. Alexander may have been the mastermind, but it had been Superboy-Prime punching the crystal wall of time that had resulted in all the damage to reality, the damage that had forced Metatron into this fight, the damage that had killed Collin…all because of Superboy-Prime's actions…

Metatron's fists clenched so tightly his claws cut into his own palms.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Metatron roared, and golden power exploded over him, enveloping him, melting away the ice at his feet, as waves of heat washed over Yin and Hex as they recoiled.

Heat that got Superboy-Prime's attention, as he stopped freezing his targets and looking onto the golden energy, Metatron snarling out through it.

"And who are you?"

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT…IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Metatron roared, as the energy leapt higher. Superboy-Prime snorted.

"Shut up."

And beams of devastating heat fired from Superboy-Prime's eyes, flying out and striking Metatron.

The heat vision should have been far too powerful to Metatron to absorb.

But you'd be amazed at what you can do in the heat of the moment, as Metatron yelled and somehow absorbed the heat, his golden power whipping even higher, as Superboy-Prime cut off his heat vision and realized he needed another tactic.

And Metatron thrust out his hands.

The blast lit up the whole sky and utterly consumed Superboy-Prime, his silhouette vanishing in the light as Yin and Hex recoiled more.

And then it faded.

Yin and Hex lowered their arms to see Metatron fall to his knees and collapse in the snow. He'd given everything he had to absorb and throw that blast.

And as the smoke cleared, revealing a scorched Superboy-Prime, it was clear he hadn't just laughed it off.

"Why you…" He growled.

And then he clutched his head and screamed, as both Kyra and Raven attacked his mind, scrambling his brain cells long enough for Wonder Girl to fly up and slam both her fists across his face.

"…Adam?" Yin asked, as Hex knelt by his body.

"…He's alive." Hex said. "He burned himself out for that…Davis, I'm probably crazy…but I refuse to let this go unanswered."

"…You're not crazy. Neither do I." Yin said, as he carefully set Collin's body down. He'd do it for him.

"Argh! Stop-ARGH!" Superboy-Prime screamed, as Kyra and Raven hit him with another mental blast, and then Mary leapt and slashed a shadow glaive down, slicing it across Superboy-Prime, and then Conner came in and slammed more fists across Superboy-Prime's face…until Superboy-Prime backhanded him away and into the ground.

"Stop it, you're REALLY…" Superboy-Prime growled, and then he saw Hex flying towards him, hurled by Yin.

"I'm crazy, I'm crazy…!" Hex said to herself as she began barraging Superboy-Prime with probability blasts as she flew towards him. "I'm crazy, I'm crazy, I'm crazy, I'M CRAZY!"

Superboy-Prime cocked back his fist and swung…

And missed, having thrown the punch too quickly, as Hex slammed into him. Bad luck.

That saved her…from death.

As Superboy-Prime just settled for hurling her away, right back the way she came. Yin stretched up to grab her, but the cold kept him from having maximum elasticity and he and Hex went tumbling violently to the ground.

But they'd served their purpose, as Raven and Kyra hit Superboy-Prime with one final mental blast, and as he coiled up screaming and clawing at his head Wonder Girl hurled her lasso over Superboy-Prime and Savior added his Shimmer.

"GO! GO!" Kyra yelled, as she added her ring, forming a hand that seized Superboy-Prime and began shoving him back, even as Mary flew up and added her own power, and Raven hers, as the Titans yanked and pushed, shoving Superboy-Prime towards the antimatter as he screamed and furiously tried to get free, even as Nightwing and Robin added their own grapples to the tangle and added whatever strength they could.

"NO! YOU CAN'T STOP ME!" Superboy-Prime yelled, as he pounded at the energy, and the feedback was simply too much to take, as Raven screamed and passed out, falling to the floor, but they were almost there, they just had to go a little further…

"NO! NO! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! **_I'M GOING TO BE…!"_**

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Savior yelled, as they made one final push, as Kyra and Mary put absolutely everything behind their blasts…

And with that Superboy-Prime went flying backwards towards the antimatter stream, Savior and Wonder Girl letting him go as he flew past them.

**_"NOOOOOOOOOO…!"_**

As the antimatter stream suddenly scattered and vanished.

"WHAT?" Savior yelled, as Superboy-Prime tumbled through the last remaining misty remnants of blackness, stopping even as those vanished.

"What…huh…?" Superboy-Prime said, as confused as the others…

As Savior looked around and found that the antimatter streams were gone. They'd been slowly drawn back into the Tower, the heroes so focused on Superboy-Prime they had never noticed this…until it was too late.

As Savior looked up at Alexander Luthor, his hands up, having finally finished that unpleasant task. But it had been well worth calling the antimatter back into his tower.

"And that is why you don't cross a Luthor, Noel Collins." Alexander said as he turned back to his rift. "It is not something you are likely to survive."

Savior turned his eyes back to Superboy-Prime, as the rage came back in them.

And he knew it was over. He was dead, and so was everyone else.

The only factor was how quickly it was.

"RAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Superboy-Prime bellowed, as he charged, even as Kyra and Mary made a last ditch effort to stop him with their respective powers…

The crashing noise of twin forces meeting rang for miles around.

And when it was over…everyone was down. They'd all been hammered by the shockwave, and it had proven too intense.

Only one figure still stood, or flew: Superboy-Prime.

"…Heh." Superboy-Prime said, looking at his enemies, broken and beaten at his feet. "You should have listened. Maybe it would have made this easier." Superboy-Prime said, as his eyes shone with erubescent rage. "Now you die, and then your world…"

"NO!"

Superboy slammed his fist across Superboy-Prime's face again, remembering how it had been, how he had been the one broken and ruined on the ground, and the Titans had come to his aid, saved his life despite all he had done, he would not stand by, not now, not ever, and certainly not with this mad doppelganger of his ready and willing to kill all his friends.

He would not let this happen. No matter what it took.

But such willpower seemed useless in the face of Superboy-Prime, who shrugged off the blow and returned it tenfold, Conner feeling his jaw nearly dislocate as he crashed into the ground again.

"So it's just you left, imposter. Good." Superboy-Prime said. "Now I'll REALLY enjoy this."

"Not…alone."

Superboy-Prime turned to see who was speaking…and found himself face to mouth with Trogdor the Burninator.

"Burn." Kyra said, and blasted Superboy-Prime with incinerating flames, throwing him backwards…as Mary leapt up and kicked him into the ground…and nearly passed out in Kyra's arms as she flew over to her side.

"My ring's nearly dead."

"So am I." Mary said.

"So…we better make this last one count."

"Oh yeah." Mary said, as darkness erupted on her hands one last time. "If I'm going to hell, he's going to remember my name."

"I'll settle for not dying." Kyra said.

Superboy-Prime was getting up as Kyra and Mary flew around him…and then they both fired off their powers, green and black mixing together, and before Superboy-Prime knew it he was suddenly covered in a green and black dome, stretching high above him.

As pinpoints of green power glowed around him.

"What the…!"

And then green laser blasts exploded from all around the dome, slamming into Superboy-Prime, hundreds of green and black shots that barraged him from all angles, as he yelled under the onslaught, the blasts exploding all over his body, again and again…

"Stop it! Stop it!" Superboy-Prime yelled as he waved his arms, the limbs blurring as he tried to block the laser shots, even as they increased in number and rained down on him, thousands of them, driving into him, trying to grind him down…

**_"STOP!"_**

And with an eruption of sheer power the dome exploded, as Kyra and Mary flew backwards, crashing along the ground before they both came to a stop. They did not get up again.

"Argh, grrr…is that the best…you can do?" Superboy-Prime taunted as he floated up, his eyes burning with childish arrogance and self-righteous rage.

"No."

Conner slammed into Superboy-Prime again, his fists raining down…even as Wonder Girl came to join him, the only one who got up, as she tossed her lasso out.

"…All right guys…did what we could…I believe…in you…" Kyra said, and then the darkness claimed her.

As up by the rift, Alexander continued his frantic search, even as the last remnants of the battle exploded beneath him, he didn't have much time left, Brother Eye was down, and Superboy-Prime might soon be breathing down his neck…

"Earth-Prime…" He said, as he searched. "Where are…you."

Even as Superboy-Prime slammed his own punch across Superboy's face, violently snapping his head back and knocking out a tooth.

"Why are you guys still fighting me? Don't you understand? Your time is **_over._**" Superboy-Prime snapped, as he flew over and seized Wonder Girl by her face, ignoring the crackling power of her lasso. "We're going to have **_GOOD _**heroes again!"

Superboy-Prime slammed Wonder Girl into Superboy and then drove them both into the ground.

"When we bring back **_my_** Earth we'll have REAL heroes!" Superboy-Prime snapped as he pulled Wonder Girl off, hurled her back into the ground, as he reared up and slammed both his fists down on her head, Wonder Girl only saving herself from death by a last second bracelet block. "Heroes who are **_polite_** and **_brave_** and **_honest!_**"

Wonder Girl's head lolled back, too stunned from the blow to defend herself, as Superboy-Prime reached down and grabbed her, pulling her up.

"And no one will **_ever_** know what I had to do to bring my Earth back." Superboy-Prime said in a low dangerous tone.

And then he smashed Wonder Girl away with a thunderous backhand.

"NO ONE!" He bellowed.

"NO!"

And Superboy slammed into Superboy-Prime again, in the grip of a rage that had burned all the way up to white-hot after Superboy-Prime's last words. He would not be beaten away this time. He would not surrender!

"Shut up! I've had it with you!" Superboy yelled as he continued his assault. "I let you judge me. Beat me down. But you go after my girlfriend? You go after my friends? My family? MY WORLD? No way."

The uppercut Superboy threw shattered all ice for a mile around.

"NO DAMN WAY!" Superboy yelled, as he followed the uppercut with an equally deafening right hook.

"…There you are…" Alexander said, as he reached out for Earth-Prime.

Snarling, Superboy-Prime cut loose with his heat vision, burning a terrible wound on Conner's chest, but Superboy didn't yield or relent, as he lashed out with another gigantic blow and finally drew blood as he smashed Superboy-Prime's lower lip.

"I'm SICK of this HYPOCRISY!" Superboy roared, as he slammed in another punch.

Right into Superboy-Prime's open hand.

"What does that word even mean?" Superboy-Prime said, grinning through bloody teeth, his eyes blazing with the power and rage of hell. "You probably think you're smart. You're not."

And Superboy-Prime broke Conner's wrist so hard he nearly tore Conner's entire hand off, as Superboy screamed in pain, as Superboy-Prime backhanded him to the ground.

"…You…you reading these words…I see you…" Alexander said. "Come to me…"

"**_Your_** world is finished." Superboy-Prime said, as he looked down on Conner, the inferno in his eyes glowing brighter, as Superboy looked up at him…and knew. "I'll be the r-r-real Superboy again. I WILL! **_ME!"_**

The eruption began…

And Superboy flew, slamming into Superboy-Prime, throwing all his remaining strength into the move as they shot forward.

Directly towards the Tower.

Sensing the movement, Alexander turned away from the rift and saw Superboy flying with Superboy-Prime towards him, towards his rift, as Superboy-Prime looked at Conner in a rage and Superboy matched his look with defiance and willpower.

It was a look truly worth of a boy, and a man, of steel.

"No!" Alexander yelled. "Keep back! KEEP-!"

And then his words were lost as Superboy rammed Superboy-Prime into Alexander and into the rift beyond.

There was a moment of silence.

And then a unfathomable explosion blasted from the top of the Tower, lighting up the sky for miles around, and then the entire Tower exploded, blowing every single recovering Titan and hero around off their feet or the ground and sending them flying, even as golden light exploded out from the destruction and enveloped everything, exploding from the planet, consuming all space, as all heroes, villains, and mortals were enveloped by the radiance as reality shattered all around them…

And came together, a million shards all falling into place, merging together…

And then the light faded.

And where once there was one, and where many had come again…once more, there was one.

* * *

New Earth.

"GUH!" Hex said, as she sat up from under some golden wreckage. "Is it over? Am I alive? Do I still exist? Hey, what just happened?"

"…mmm, no mom, lemme sleep another ten minutes…" Gauntlet muttered, and then his eyes blinked open. "Oh man I just had the craziest dream someone was screwing up Infinite Crisis and sticking Stu's in it and adding unnecessarily long fight scenes and ah crap." Gauntlet said as he looked around.

Potent's eyes blinked open, and he sat up, rubbing his jaw…and wondering where his shoes had gone.

"Titans? Come in!" Robin said, as he and Beast Boy knelt by Cyborg's shattered remains, as Starfire approached, helping a still very out of it Terra, even as Brick Wall was helped up by Mary and Scorched Earth shoved some wreckage aside and helped Savior out from under it.

"…What happened?" Hex asked, as she saw Metatron sit up nearby.

"…It's done." Yin said. "The Earths have been recombined."

"Damn. Where's Alexander? Where's Superboy-Prime?" Savior asked Scalpel as he came over to the Titans.

"Gone." Nightwing said from nearby…and then he saw something.

"Oh man…if I never have to go through that again it will be too…" Hex began.

And then some wreckage moved aside, and a very confused Ragnarok sat.

"…GUH?" Hex said, as she went as white as a sheet.

"…Collin?" Metatron said in utter disbelief.

"…Yeah?" Ragnarok said.

"…Collin!" Yin said, as he almost hugged Ragnarok…and then remembered the two weren't that close. "But…you were dead!"

"I was?" Ragnarok said, and then his eyes narrowed.

"…I was." He repeated, as he looked at his arms. Yin looked as well.

The Catalysts were gone.

"What happened?" Hex said, as she limped over.

"…The Catalysts overloaded…my body couldn't take it…but in the reaction of it, some kind of effect seemed to happen between the Dark Catalyst and the others…and my body somehow internalized them." Ragnarok said. "I've heard of that happening before, how people mutate their own bodies by wearing powered devices too long…but it appears this happened when mine overloaded. But even so, the blast of the Dark Catalyst still did me in..I was still dead…the Catalysts stuck in a corpse…until that blast of reality somehow jumpstarted them up again. Like I was reset." Ragnarok said. "…I can't sense the Dark Catalyst…it must have been totally destroyed in the restart…maybe it knew all along, planned this…its last act…it started up the White and Golden Catalysts again, and they managed to…well…you said it. I was dead." Ragnarok said. "But…then again, when is a hero ever…"

And then Collin fell onto his side. Yin's heart leapt, but a quick check showed he was just asleep.

"…Ok Collin. Rest well. You can deal with this another day." Yin said, even as his eyes caught something far off in the distance: what looked like wreckage being thrown into the air. Was someone digging something out?

That was what Nightwing had saw, what he was currently running to, the Titans all following at various speeds. As a result, Nightwing reached it first.

"Conner?" Wonder Girl asked, as she frantically hurled wreckage aside, trying to find her boyfriend, her first love, she wouldn't let it end this way, he'd finally found his way back, not this way, not this way…

And she saw something.

"CONNER?" She yelled as she grabbed the wreckage and lifted it off.

And her heart filled with ice as she him, lying there, his body a ruin. He'd given everything he had in his last attack, and it had cost him dearly, as he lay there, covered in blood.

"Conner!" Wonder Girl cried, as she went to his side.

"Mom! Dad!" Kyra said as she flew over, as Savior himself found Raven. "Are you all right?"

"I'll live." Raven said.

"I did a head count, we all seem accounted for except…" Kyra said, as she saw it. "…oh no…"

"Conner…" Wonder Girl said, as he eyes filled with tears.

"…he said…I wasn't the real Superboy…kff…" Conner coughed, as his own tear streaked from his eye. "…he was wrong. I just…forgot…for a little while…"

"Don't talk…"

"We all forgot…don't let them forget again…"

"Just hang in there ok?" Wonder Girl said, as her tears streaked down her cheeks. "You did it Conner. You saved the Earth. You saved everyone."

And for a moment, Conner saw his beginning…all that had come…until now…and he was content.

"I know, Cass…isn't it…cool?"

And then the light left his eyes, and Conner Kent was dead.

Wonder Girl put her hand to her mouth…and then, even as more tears streaked from her eyes, she leaned down and kissed Conner, and closed his eyes even as she began to weep on his body.

"…No." Kyra said, as she reached out. "He can't…I knew him…he can't be…"

"…All this…time was fluid Kyra." Savior said. "Things…changed."

"But…but…but…" Kyra said, and then said nothing.

They were there, Savior realized. He hadn't seen them come, but they were there. Superman and Kal-L. Batman. Wonder Woman. All standing around Conner, standing with Nightwing and Robin, of the Titans past present and future, as they all looked down and looked upon the ultimate sacrifice of a hero. Of a Superboy.

Savior found himself drawing Raven to him, as Kyra backed up against them, as Wonder Girl softly continued to weep.

"…'Oh why should the spirit of mortal be proud? Like a fast flying meteor, a fast-flying cloud, a flash of the lightning, a break of the wave…he passes from life to his rest in the grave.'…" Savior said. "…Good night sweet prince, and may flocks of angels sing thee to thy rest."

And then there was nothing, save of the sounds of weeping.

* * *

"_It would be a stronger world, a stronger loving world, to die in."_

-John Cade

The End of the War

But Not The End.


	11. Titans: Children and Monsters

Titans: Children and Monsters

_One should never lose hope for the future._

_Yet isn't it amazing how easily we do?_

_Maybe I'm too much a product of my time. My parents raised me well, and when I reached manhood the greatest disaster in human history occurred: World War II. Even I, with all my power, couldn't prevent the millions of men and women from losing their lives defending their liberty and independence from a madman. It was the greatest sacrifice that humanity had ever seen. In it, we earned freedom._

_Yet it seemed as the generations rolled on that each one understood what we had given up less, and worse, did not care. Maybe I was wrong, but it seemed that way to me, watching the youth make so many self-indulgent and misunderstood decisions all in the decree that they somehow knew better then us. Us. The generation that had lost so much so that they could have the freedom to act in the way they chose. The way I abhorred._

_It was not all bad. It was rarely malicious. In most ways, it was just the latest redefinition of surviving and thriving._

_But it hurt, none the less. And eventually it began to work on me. I never showed it, but I thought it. I lost hope for the future._

_It would be easy to blame Alex for my mistakes, but I cannot do it fully. I let this happen. I let my own prejudices and inward beliefs control me. I should have known better, and by the time I realized it it was too late._

_Perhaps one could say it just shows I am human._

_But it doesn't make it any less easier, as I look on the body of this young man, who died for the things I believed his generation no longer understood._

_I shouldn't have let this happen._

_It's my fault._

"It's our fault."

Kal-L turned to his modern self, standing by his side as they looked over Conner's body. He was trying, and failing, to keep a strong front.

"That should have been us." Superman said.

"I'm sorry Clark." Wonder Woman replied.

"Sorry isn't going to help Superboy. We SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE." Superman said through clenched teeth.

Batman was silent, as his eyes looked around, looking at the younger heroes surrounding him, those he knew and those he didn't, united in youth…surrounded by the humans that had served as the OMAC hosts. When he, Superman, and Wonder Woman had been unable to agree with each other, had been torn apart by bickering and the inability to see eye to eye, the Titans, and their friends, had pulled together to fight in their stead. A fight that had clearly hurt them all, and ended in Conner's death, even as Wonder Girl continued to weep over the body. Wounds and an end that had been partly brought about by his own failings.

He saw himself looking at Nightwing and Robin, and wondering if he could ever look them in the face again.

"…Never again." Batman said. "It never happens again. We learn from it…we learn from them."

Wonder Woman slowly approached the pair, as Cassie finally stood up and went to her, sobbing into her chest, as Superman knelt by Conner and lowered his head, a gentle hand on his chest as if willing his heart to beat with life again. Robin broke away from the Titans and knelt down himself: in another, more canon world, he and Superboy had been much much closer, but even in this world they had been friends, and Robin in turn mourned the death, as did everyone, even the superheroes that had returned once the Earths had been re-merged, standing around in silence.

"Kal…" Came a female voice, and Kal-L turned to look at his cousin, Power Girl, her face badly bruised (she had fought too. Fought while he had been lead around by the nose). "Where's Lois Kal? Where is she?"

So Kal-L told her.

"…No…" Power Girl said, fresh grief on her face. "…Why did we survive?"

_I thought I knew._

_It was to make this Earth a better place._

…_Because I thought they couldn't._

_I thought they were weak, poisoned, corrupt._

_That their Superboy was unworthy of the symbol I built._

_When in truth the truly weak one was myself._

_And the corruption was in the last place I thought to look._

_Unworthy of my symbol…_

_I picked the wrong one to condone._

_And the wrong one to condemn.

* * *

_

As terrible as it was, other factors had to be considered, as the Titans regrouped, the normal group coming together as the future group stayed off to the side. The other Titans didn't notice: Superboy may have been dead, but Cyborg wasn't.

Though that may yet prove to be wrong, as the Titans gathered around him, Beast Boy by his side.

"Raven, can you do anything?"

"…" Raven said. "…I can sense his life, but it is faint. The renewing of the Earth seems to have refreshed me somewhat…but magic has entered a new age. It is still highly unstable. Even if it wasn't, his body is too intertangled with his machinery. It's something beyond my expertise."

"You need to bring him back to the Tower." Came Viridian's voice from the communicator. "He needs to be stabilized first. Then maybe we can repair him. But I will say, don't worry about a new body for me."

"Ok…what?" Robin said, having rejoined the group.

"The recombining of the Earths has changed many things. I am only speaking through your communicators Titans. I have a new body, back in Detroit. So Robin, you are off the hook. For now."

"…Great."

"Where are all the bad guys?" Terra asked, as she looked around. "I knew I saw a few while we were heading for the Tower. Where did they all go?"

"I'm not sensing any life signs." Raven said. "Maybe they fled, or were warped away. For whatever reason, they're all gone."

"Though this leaves another problem." Savior said, as he quickly went over to the future Titans. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, mostly we're half-dead." Kyra said, her voice laced with a weary grimness. "But…better then being all dead, I suppose." She added, looking sadly at Conner's body.

"Where's Prime? And Alexander?" Potent asked.

"Gone. We've scanned the area. No sign of them. Maybe we'll be lucky and they'll have been disintegrated at an atomic level or something." Savior said.

"Um…hate to interrupt…but can we go home now?" Metatron asked.

"…Oh glomp." Ragnarok said, looking down on his shattered armor. "The Dark Catalyst! Without it, we can't universe jump!"

"We may not even have a place to go back to." Hex said. "All the worlds have been recombined back into one. Our homes may have ceased to exist."

"Not necessarily." Ragnarok said. "Alternate worlds…well that's just one direction, so to speak, when it comes to alternates. Of course, I don't know how we're going to get there."

"Is there anything I can do?" Raven asked, as she floated over. "The others are prepping Victor for transport. I've done what I can for him…all we can do is try and make sure no one else dies…or gets left behind."

"Especially considering meeting our parents probably isn't what's best for their states of mind at the moment." Scorched Earth said.

"Agreed." Savior said.

"I don't know guys…when we traveled here reality was going bonkers, and we had machinery and fresh powers and all kinds of things…I figured out a way here but it was rather like…oh." Kyra said, as she looked at her ring hand.

And Savior's eyes were suddenly drawn to it as he saw it as well: she was fading, like an old photograph.

"Kyra…?" Savior said, as his eyes suddenly dilated with fear: what now, what NOW…

"No Dad…it's ok. It's…our solution." Kyra said, as everyone realized they were starting to disappear as well. "Reality has been fixed…time is being corrected…with no reality ripples in the future we have no reason to go back or end up in each other's worlds…so we're being returned to them. Our puzzle is being reassembled…we don't need to find a solution, it's being handed to us…perhaps it's the way of thanking us." Kyra said, as her body started going see through. "Of course, one might wonder that if we never came back how we affected anything…but I'd rather not look this gift horse in the mouth."

"…Look…tell the Titans…our parents…what you will. I'm sure you'll find the right words…" Mary said.

"But before we go…Dad, just remember this." Kyra said. "No matter what darkness the day brings, what pain, what suffering…no matter how hopeless it seems…just remember…there's always tomorrow." Kyra said.

"…Yeah." Savior replied. "Yeah."

"…Oh." Kyra said, as she looked at her ring. "Oh my. Is this the rebirth? I can sense them…"

"Sense what?" Raven asked, suddenly a mite worried, even as all the future Titans finished up fading away, some waving or making other farewell gestures.

"The Corps…they…so strong…and what…oh." Kyra said, even as her ring shone briefly. "I can't…do much more then that…"

"What?" Savior asked.

"Just…in case you need more help…" Kyra said, as she completely faded away. "Bye bye…Dad…see you la…"

And then they were all gone. Savior and Raven looked where they had all been moments before.

"You think they really went home?"

"One can only hope." Raven said, and the two returned to their group of Titans, where Robin was talking to Hal Jordan.

"Hey Savior." Robin said. "Hal's going to handle getting the people from the OMAC's out of this area and back into safety…so we're…"

"We have a problem." Viridian said from the communicators.

"What?" Robin asked.

"Um…Jump City is gone."

"GONE?" Robin almost yelled. "IT WAS DESTROYED?"

"No no. It's…gone." Viridian said. "It's…just not here any more Robin. There's nothing left."

"What…?" Robin said, as all the Titans looked confused as hell.

"I am afraid I have no reason for this, but I do have a suggestion. There is a STAR Labs facility in Detroit: they most likely have the facilities to stabilize Cyborg."

"I guess it will have to do." Robin said.

"We'd best hurry." Raven said, as she knelt by Cyborg's destroyed form. "His signal is starting to weaken. I can keep him here, but not forever."

"Right. Just a moment." Savior said, as he quickly dashed over to Nightwing. "Dick, Robin and the rest of us are getting Cyborg to safety. You all right?"

"…Yeah." Nightwing said. "Go."

Savior took one last look at Conner, still prone on the ground, surrounded by mourners. His eyes happened to catch Kal-L looking at him, and Savior returned the gaze, keeping the accusation to a bare minimum. But it was still clearly evident in his cool gaze.

"…I'm sorry son." Kal-L said.

"…I suppose you are sir." Savior replied. "But talk is cheap."

And Savior ran back to the Titans, not bothering to listen for any replies. Terra had pulled out more of the gone-home Ragnarok's rock platform to form a ride for the non-fliers, and Savior joined them on it.

"Let's get to Detroit guys. We can figure out what to do next when we get there." Robin said. Terra, glad to be useful again, lifted the rock off and the Titans flew off, leaving the war grounds behind.

"Is anyone hurt? I feel fine at the moment, so you'd best take advantage." Raven said.

"Savior has helped fix my eyes. I am ok, Raven. No need to exert any effort here." Starfire said.

"All things considered, I feel fine." Beast Boy said. "It's like that Earth recombination helped fix some of us up. A rebirth of ourselves as well as our world."

"Too bad it couldn't help everyone." Scalpel said darkly.

"How is the Gauntlet Friend Rob?" Starfire asked as she flew in close.

"Battered as hell, but still working. It's even fixing itself. Those Old Ones sure knew how to build their stuff." Gauntlet said. "So, who wants to play Yahtzee?"

"Not now Rob. Not now." Robin said. "Everyone's sure they're all right?"

"We're fine Tim. I know." Beast Boy said. "We're alive."

"And it's finally over." Terra said.

Gauntlet noticeably paled.

"…Eek."

"What?" Scalpel said.

"…Why did she have to say that?"

* * *

Always, always have a back-up plan. 

The most brilliant minds were always distinguished by this factor: those who had plans waiting in the wings when their grand design fell apart were those who won.

But half the time these minds loathed their back-up plans. Not because it meant they required more work, but because it spoke of a chance of failure. And no great mind ever wanted to consider failure.

And no great mind took it well when it came.

Not even Alexander Luthor Jr.

But he only let that storm through his mind for about fifteen seconds before he was already putting it aside. So his grand design had not worked.

It didn't matter. Even as he'd been putting it into play, he'd been setting up alternate options to fall back on if somehow the first and best of his plans didn't work. And now that it hadn't, he quickly turned to it, as he warped himself and the villains that remained on the field away from it (which taxed his powers more then he cared to admit), even as he turned and began putting his alternate pieces into play.

He'd been setting it up for months in advance, both the primary and the secondary plan, and even in the final stages of the primary plan he'd still been setting up the secondary one, gathering a selected core of villains around Metropolis. Most of those selected villains had been warped to the field to serve as defense…a task at which they had completely failed at, as Alexander found the anger and bitterness washing over him again.

How had this happened? He'd planned the whole thing perfectly. Whatever he hadn't set up himself, he'd utilized to his maximum advantage. Like the breakdown in relations between all the major adult superheroes when Jean Loring's madness had brought their dirty little mindwiping secret to the surface. The events and the fallout of that had allowed Alexander to put three of his primary plans into motion that had culminated with the temporary resurrection of the Multiverse. He'd had dozens of balls in the air and he'd juggled them all without effort.

Superboy-Prime's mental breakdown had been part of the reason things had fallen apart, but only a small part. Alexander knew the primary reason.

The Titans. Especially that group from the future, that anomaly. They should have ended up on alternate Earths like everything else, but instead they'd somehow grouped together and ended up opposing him, falling through the cracks of his reordering of reality just like Kara had during the original Crisis. It was them, along with this world's Titans, that were to blame.

How ironic. He'd spent a great deal of time making sure the Justice League, the adults, would be neutralized and rendered moot during his plan, and his other plans revolved around the fact that no heroes would be able to pose any kind of a threat to him like a united Justice League could have. And then the children had showed up and ruined everything.

Why hadn't Superboy killed ALL of them, instead of just a few?

They'd even screwed up his back-up plan, as they had disabled or killed several of the most powerful members of his Society. Hell, Deathstroke had died fighting them, how the hell had THAT happened? They'd also taken apart the symbolic figure of the Society, Dr. Light, the man who stood out for the 'sins' of the heroes in their mindwiping. He'd been pounded into a gibbering wreck, useless as an icon or a fighter now. They'd also removed Bizzaro, the White Hole, the General, Solomon Grundy, The Psycho-Pirate, and Zoom from play, all of whom could have been very useful in the back-up plan. A lesser mind would have been unable to recover from all the damage those accursed Titans had wrecked.

But Alexander Luthor was not a lesser mind.

He hadn't lost all of the members of the Society he'd warped to the Arctic (Sinestro was itching for revenge after what that young female Green Lantern had done to him for one), and none of them yet suspected that he wasn't Lex Luthor, having carefully kept them in the dark, even now, as he communicated with the three remaining members of the head of the Society minus himself via a hologram of Lex Luthor, those three remaining members being Dr. Psycho, Talia, and the Calculator, none of whom realized who he really was even after all this. The members he'd lost had been swiftly replaced on the board, and with the masterful way he had set everything up in advance, the damage was completely negatable, as he put it into motion.

He'd spent months beforehand having the right people bribed and threatened, all over the world. He'd assembled villains in Metropolis (hence knowing where they were for swift warping beforehand) and in other locations in case he needed to activate them. And now that everything was fixed, he did just that.

He also gave the order for Dr. Psycho to fetch their special guest. He would prove VERY useful after the damage the Titans had done to him.

The Titans…surely they'd get involved. They were that type.

He'd make sure they all paid for destroying his Tower, ruining his vision.

He wasn't going to lose.

* * *

Robin's communicator went off, and Robin stood up from the small rock seat Terra had made as he took it off his belt. 

"Who is it?" Beast Boy asked, resting on the rock.

"Not sure…outside signal…" Robin said. "This is Robin."

"…gel?" Crackled the communicator.

"I'm sorry your signal isn't coming through very clear-" Was all Robin got out before Scalpel pulled the communicator out of his hands.

"SOPHIE!" He yelled, nearly knocking Robin over.

"Nig…! …thank go-…e ok!"

"How could you…oh, right." Robin said, looking at Scalpel's long ears.

"Sophie, are you all right?"

"…fine!" Sophie's voice said, coming in a little clearer. "Nigel, we're still in Keyst-…you going?"

"Wait Sophie, don't go back to Florida…we're going to Detroit! Can you meet us there?"

"…can try!"

"Great! We're…where are we going Tim?" Scalpel asked. Robin, despite his generally dour mood, found himself snickering a bit and then giving Scalpel the exact address. Scalpel repeated it four times to be sure, and then Sophie signed off.

"SHE'S ALIVE!" Scalpel trumpeted, nearly crushing Robin with a hug. "She's ok! After all that…it was worth it! All of it!"

"Good going man." Gauntlet said, patting Nigel on the back.

"And all is right with the world." Noel said from across the rock, and then noticed Starfire had flown in close to him. "Yes Kory?"

"Noel I never asked, in all the fighting…who were all those other people? I could not see well and by the time you repaired my eyes they were gone…but they seemed familiar. Did we know them?"

"…They were Titans Kory. Timelost Titans from another place. They were popped into our Tower…they helped us save the day."

"Oh." Starfire said. "They could not leave without saying goodbye?"

"They weren't planning on leaving so swiftly. They just did, because of the destruction of the Tower."

"Oh. A pity. I would have liked to have thanked them." Starfire said, and flew away from the rock again.

"Oh don't worry Star. They know. They know." Savior said.

And then Robin's communicator rang. Another outside signal.

"This is Robin." He answered.

"Tim?" Came an electronic voice from the communicator, but one Tim Drake knew very well.

"Ba…I mean, Oracle? Is that you?"

"Oh Tim, I finally got ahold of you. Are you all right?"

"Relatively."

"Tim, where are you? I thought you were helping out in Bludhaven!"

"I was…we kind of got sidetracked…and we ended up in the Arctic."

"Oh son of a…Tim…Batman…Gotham now…" Oracle's voice crackled as there was brief interference.

"Hold on Oracle, slow down." Robin said, as he made minute adjustments to his communicator. "Oracle, you still there? Over."

"Robin, where are you now?"

"Somewhere over Canada, why?" Robin said. Oracle said a word Tim was surprised she knew, let along used.

"Do you know where Batman is?"

"…Yes. We just left him behind at the Arctic about forty minutes ago…"

"Damn. DAMN."

"Don't curse yet Oracle. Guys, one of you, can you contact Bat…"

"I'm on it." Savior said, as he pulled out his own battered communicator: not everyone knew the proper codes, but Noel being Noel had them memorized and kept them up to date.

"What's the problem Oracle?"

"Something's up at Arkham…I'd hoped you were in the area, or knew where Br-Batman was…"

"I know where he is Oracle, but we have our own problem. One of my teammates has been gravely injured, we need to get him stabilized or he'll die, that really doesn't allow me to make detours because they may need me to get into the…"

"All right Tim, it's ok. We'll make do." Barbara Gordon said from her wheelchair, as she looked upon the many holographic displays of the highest-tech computer systems on the planet, her nerve center for the brain she was to the metahuman community. And she'd actually thought the chaos was over. Showed how much she knew. "But I need to get in touch with Batman."

"I'll do what I can."

"Understood." Oracle said, and switched frequencies. "All Agents on alert. I repeat, all agents in the Gotham area, even NEAR the Gotham area…drop whatever the hell you're doing and bring whatever good luck you're believed you're owed to Arkham, NOW."

* * *

'Lex Luthor', when he had ordered the attack, had worded it quite well. 

"Let's give Hell a C-Section and see what spills out."

The point man had been Waylon Jones, aka Killer Croc, and despite Arkham's heavy security it had been piecemeal since the last great breakout. That, and the hand guiding him, had resulted in this: the walls smashed open and all of Gotham's madness spilling out in a drove.

Unfortunately for them, they were just seconds too late to escape, as they ran into a wall of ragtag defenders. And though the heroes were exhausted from the crisis, they found the strength still to go on.

"Straight from taking Brother Eye down to this. Nice day huh Black Lightning?" Black Canary said as she punched her way through the murderers and lunatics.

"If it saves lives, then yes Canary, it is." Black Lightning replied, and shocked his own targets into submission. Other minor heroes proved they were just that…even the Gotham police that had arrived.

"Flank 'em! They've got no plan! Just flank them on both si-AHHHH!" Yelled a man named Detective Marcus…as he was grabbed from behind by scaly, clawed hands, one seizing him by the shoulder while the other yanked his shotgun away and away from him.

"Well well. Howdy Detective Marcus." Hissed the hideous face of Killer Croc, a mutant that had ripped more men apart then the world's history of serial killers. "Name's Waylon, but you can call me KILLER."

"Dammit!" Marcus cursed: all the heroes were occupied, even his men were, no backup, no one to aid him…

"Don't worry." Croc hissed once more in the detective's ear, even as the officer struggled with his free left arm, Croc only holding it by the shoulder. "I eat cop meat just as much as cape meat. I got no impulse control, that's my problem."

"Yeah well…maybe…maybe…!" Marcus gasped. "Maybe I have something the capes don't!"

Killer Croc chuckled. He loved last second defiance. Made the look in their eyes as he ripped their guts out and swallowed them down all the sweeter.

"Yeah, pray, what would that be?"

Marcus answered not with words, but with action, as Killer Croc learned the hard way he should had held BOTH arms instead of just one and a shoulder.

As Marcus yanked his automatic free and jerked it up, firing at point-blank range into Croc's head and mouth. His skin and bones were much much tougher then the average human, but even he couldn't shrug off those kinds of impacts, as he screamed in agony and collapsed, holding his badly hurt head and face.

"A backup piece." Marcus said to the fallen mutant. "And when you're done pissing yourself, I need you to assume the position."

* * *

"…Well, some good news Robin. I managed to muster a decent on the spot task force, and they seem to be winning." Oracle reported to Robin. 

"That's good Oracle. But I'm afraid I have bad news of my own." Robin said. "We can't contact Batman. The area where we were, there's still all kinds of weird energy, it hasn't faded yet…and it's completely scrambling long-range communication. And we think he's still in there, because we can't get through."

"Damn…" Oracle whispered. "Once you get your friend help, you think you can head back that way?"

"Possibly. We'll let you know, ok?"

"All right. I'll keep hunting for potential alternate channels while you do so. Godspeed Tim." Oracle said, and signed off.

"See now, this is why I was upset over what Terra said." Gauntlet chimed in.

"Well, if that's the worst that happens…" Beast Boy began.

And then Robin's communicator rang again.

"This is Robin. Is that you Sophie?" Robin asked.

"Tim!" Oracle's voice came over the communicator again.

"Babs? You just signed off…"

"It came up two seconds after I did! It's not just Arkham!"

"What?"

"It's…" Oracle said, and then as she changed her mind her fingers raced over her holographic keypad, as she switched from Robin's select channel to every open channel she had.

"ALL AGENTS, LISTEN TO ME. IT'S NOT JUST ARKHAM." Oracle said in a calm but still frantic tone, as she looked at the data on her screens, even as she brought one hand to her hair, tangling her fingers in it in great distress. "There's MORE. I'm tracking five, repeat, FIVE, ORGANIZED ATTACKS ON METAHUMAN HOLDING FACILITIES!"

* * *

The Society Tower. Gotham City. 

Oracle wasn't the only one watching the pieces fall into place. When her evil opposite, the Calculator, was one of the six leading members of the greatest organization of super villains in history, computer organization on the other end was second to none.

And so the three heads of the Society stood and looked upon their own screen: Doctor Psycho was gone, off with the villain Warp to fetch something dearly required. All that remained was the Calculator, Talia Al Ghul, and 'Lex Luthor', in hologram form, giving his instructions from elsewhere for his own reasons…reasons his fellow Society members still didn't know.

"Phase one continues apace, and on schedule. The Slab is completely ours at this time." The Calculator said, speaking of the largest metahuman prison on the planet. "Breakout efforts in Blackgate, Alcatraz, and Enclave M also proceeding as planned. The only hiccup is Arkham: I think Oracle had something to do with their response team being fast enough. I think we're losing that one."

"Nonsense." 'Lex Luthor' said. "Arkham was always intended to be a distraction. Most of those 'people' would be unmanageable in our organization. Or have you forgotten why I refused membership to the Joker?"

"You need to inform us of such judgment calls, Luthor." Talia said tersely. "We're not the rank and file rabble."

"…Quite right Talia Al Ghul. My error." 'Lex Luthor' said, even as the force behind the hologram began wishing for this plan to proceed faster so he could finally abandon this pretense. "Black Adam has, as predicted, returned to Khandaq?"

"Yes Luthor. I've already dispatched Captain Nazi to deal with him." The Calculator said: Black Adam had been the most powerful, physically anyway, of the Society's six leaders, and of course Luthor had betrayed HIM. They didn't need Black Adam seeking revenge. Hopefully Captain Nazi would serve as a proper deterrent for Black Adam to never leave his small Middle Eastern kingdom again.

"Good. Well then, let us continue. I want Phase 2 initiated in no less then 30 minutes."

"We'll see about that Luthor." The Calculator replied.

"Perhaps you do, gentlemen, and lady. I know."

* * *

"Damn it all." Oracle said, now back to one lone channel, the Titans' communicators. 

"Listen Oracle. We're almost at Detroit. We'll be as quick as possible…but none of those locations you listed are that close to us. It's going to take us some time…" Robin said.

"I know. Do what you can. But do it as quickly as possible!"

"Understood. Robin out." Robin said. "Well, you heard the woman. Terra, STEP ON IT!"

Terra's eyes glowed gold, and her rock exploded forward, nearly knock all the standing Titans down.

Barbara Gordan had been gifted with a great brain, and she rarely had stress headaches, even in times of crisis…but this was getting to be too much. Just when the world seemed saved, along came the second round…well, nothing she could do about it. So to speak, as she began opening back up the other channels with one hand even as she hunted for another, hoping and praying she could find it.

"No Canary, I need you and the others to wrap the scene and assist Gotham P.D as soon as possible. Yes, ALL the major supervillain holding facilities have been hit. I'm sending Zinda…grab everyone you can and re-deploy to Blackgate." Oracle said, and signed off, even as she continued to hunt furiously. She hadn't been prepared for this. She had no contingency plan for a simultaneous attack on five super-prisons at once. She was out of her…

And then, her minor miracle, as she found it.

She was out of her league, maybe, but she could address that problem.

"J'onn?" Oracle asked.

"Yes Oracle. I can hear you." J'onn said, as he flew along over the land below. "I assume that by this abrupt communication there is a problem."

"More then that J'onn. This situation is MILES past critical." Oracle said. "We need the big guns."

"…I'm afraid that may not be as simple as you'd hope, Oracle." J'onn replied. "There's been a catastrophe…and a death."

"Dick…?" Oracle said in horror.

"No…the problem is, Oracle, that the main members of the League are still up in the Arctic…and there are strange…"

"Energy patterns, I know. Can't you use your telepathy?"

"That is the problem Oracle…it scrambles even mind transmissions. I myself tried a moment ago to contact them on another matter, and I could not get through despite my best efforts. That area is a dead zone for all forms of communication…and unfortunately I left to check on the state of the world a while ago: the area is quite distant to me now."

"Why are they all up there in the first place?"

"The rest of my comrades there who stayed behind are running an extremely thorough check to see if the villains who were behind this are dead or have gotten away…"

"Argh! NO. WHY NOW?" Oracle cursed. "We…we need…" Oracle said, and then her voice grew hard. "Ok then J'onn. If we can't call them as the cavalry, then we'll have to invent a new one. I already have the Titans on board, but they're occupied for the moment. We need as many bodies as we can get in touch with NOW."

"Could I not just fly back to the Arctic…?"

"Believe me J'onn, I wish, but at the moment we need your brain. Completely and utterly, nothing else to distract you, even moving. I'm giving you complete access to my files…I've never done this before for ANYONE, J'onn. Maybe in a bit we can spare someone to go back to the Arctic…but for now, we have to concentrate on those breakouts."

"Understood Oracle. I will begin immediately." J'onn said, as he lowered himself down onto a rock face and crossed his legs as he prepared to expand his telepathy out.

"Thank you J'onn…but…this is bad…even with this…God save us all."

"H'ronmeer watches and waits for us every one, Oracle." J'onn replied, speaking of one of his Martian deities. "I'm starting now."

* * *

And even as Oracle and J'onn struggled to contact each and every hero they could by any means necessary, due to the cruel twist of fate that denied them contact with the strongest ones…at least some things were happy. 

How they'd beaten them there, Savior had no idea, but when the Titans had arrived at the Detroit STARS facility they had found the Elementals waiting…and Sophie.

Perhaps Savior wished he could be touched more by Nigel and Sophie's joyful reunion, even as Robin, Beast Boy, and Raven accompanied the STAR labs personal into their facility to properly treat Cyborg, but he was far too ansty. The world was under siege, again, and in a way Savior was not surprised. With all the chaos surrounding these events, it was almost a written invitation for someone else to take advantage of it: indeed, he'd voiced those thoughts to the other Titans during their flight and been promptly hushed by Robin, probably for morale reasons. The thought still lingered in his head though, a thought he'd put into words: there were two kinds of winners of crises like these. The good guys, or the bad guy who knew just when to make his entrance and seize the reins.

Savior hoped Darkseid was otherwise occupied…he and any other forces, living or thought dead, that could try and step into this mess and turn it to their advantage…he didn't need any more surprises.

Speaking of surprises, Savior finally noticed something off about the Elementals…there were too many of them.

Savior knew the group: Scorcher, Floral, Rocko, Zippy, Platinum Blonde. All females…so what was a male doing in there?

A male with…a ponytail made of water…who Scorcher was standing right next to as if she was afraid he'd disappear…

"…Elementals." He found himself saying, as they looked over. "The world's still in trouble. We could use your help…and do I know you?" Savior asked the water-man, who smiled slightly.

"Henry Dubowski. H-Duo." H-Duo said, and offered a hand.

"Oh really! Great!…Aren't you dead?" Savior said.

"I think I was." H-Duo said, as Scorcher leaned on him. "But there was some weird event during the time where all the worlds were there…something happened between the Earth we were on and another…my fellow Elementals said it was like they were being combined with something, like the worlds were being merged…and when the merger was broke they 'snapped' back to normal…Antoinette had a bad facial injury, it just disappeared after the snapback…and it appears my other was forcibly merged with my corpse…pity for him, but when it 'snapped back'…well, guess I got a second chance." H-Duo said.

Savior stared. That was as bizarre as Superboy-Prime's magic crystal wall punches.

"…Ok…well, THIS world's in trouble. You care to help?"

"We have a lot to make up for." Scorcher said in her usual Southern twang. "I dunno about Lorant…"

"I'll be fine. I'll do what I can." Rocko said: magic's continually uncertain state meant he/she was still having trouble holding his his/her body together.

"Then you have our help." Scorcher said.

"Great." Savior said, and walked off. He didn't want to add his last thought: _I just hope I don't kill you all over again._

Having another idea, Savior made his way over to Terra, who was sitting down to rest.

"How are you doing Terra?"

"Drained…but ok I guess…" Terra said.

"I have an idea. Can you fetch your rock platform, shore it up with some local material?"

"Uh yeah…probably, why?"

"Explain in a bit." Savior said, as he went around to see if everyone else was still in the fight. They were, even though Sophie looked very unhappy at the idea of Scalpel running off again after they'd just found each other.

Terra was bringing her rock platform into the base area they'd entered through when Robin returned with Beast Boy and Raven.

"They've managed to get Cyborg stabilized. He'll live…but they have no idea if they'll be able to repair him or bring him back." Robin reported to the Titans. Beast Boy looked grim, while Raven looked calm, though that was probably her saving her strength. "I was thinking…what are you doing Terra?"

"I dunno. Savior's request." Terra said, as she waved her rock platform in.

"Simple in a sense Robin. This is a STAR Labs facility. They build all kinds of stuff here. Including rocket engines." Savior said. "I guesstimated that if we can attach a couple of Terra's platform…maybe we can get to where we're needed faster."

"…That's stupid."

"Like a fox."

"Did you calculate the time spent doing this against the time saved?"

"Looks pretty good." Savior said as he held up his communicator.

"All right then. Let's give it a try." Robin said. "Titans, go! We all chip in here!"

* * *

True, the Titans could have hopped on the rock with the Elementals and taken off…but the battles were already in full swing at the prisons: by the time they got there it would probably be too late to do anything. Oracle was really missing the Speed Force right about now, not to mention the seemingly uncallable big guns (and she had to wonder if that hadn't been arranged). 

But that was at the back of her mind, even as she and J'onn tried to find and direct heroes to the battle sites. All in all, they could have done better…but they could have done worse, as she contacted the heroes trying to contain the recently re-opened Alcatraz.

"I'm sending you a code, Arsenal! It's urgent!" Oracle said to Roy Harper, the first Speedy, who was on the ground at Alcatraz as he and several other heroes battled furiously against scores of escaped prisoners, human and inhuman alike.

"Kinda busy right now, Oracle! We're LOSING, by the way, if you're keeping score! Some of these freaks are already gone!"

"It's bad here too Oracle!" Black Lightning's voice cut into another band, as the superhero fought his own battle with his makeshift allies at Blackgate Prison in Gotham. "Someone smuggled in their gear and to make matters worse someone dumped a mixture of Venom and Velocity 9 into the evening chow! Even some of the GUARDS who ate it are shooting at us!"

"…Do what you can! Ollie, are you holding the line at Enclave M?" Oracle said as she switched to a third line and contacted Green Arrow, who was trying to deal with the breakout at the Southern metahuman holding site.

"I don't think you heard me the first time Oracle! The bad guys have Prometheus here! And we…have a bunch of people I've never heard of!" Green Arrow said, as he furiously fought with someone or other (in the chaos it all blurred together).

"I'm doing everything I can! Just try and hold out until I figure something out, ok?" Oracle said.

"Oracle?" Came a new voice: Robin's. "This is Robin! We just need a few more minutes, then you can point us at wherever you think is best!"

"Got it Robin! And Green Arrow, hold the line! That's an order!" Oracle said. "We'll beat this yet!"

* * *

Poor Barbara Gordon. 

Even she didn't realize just what 'this' was yet.

"They've sent nearly all their early resources to the initial sites, Lex, as expected." The Calculator said, addressing the hologram of Lex Luthor before him as he sat in the midst of his own nerve center of computers. "Everything is ready, with time to spare. Time for phase 2?"

"Paint me a masterwork, Calculator." 'Lex Luthor' replied.

Months of planning, months of setup, even for a backup plan…but it would do. And it would work…

"…Ever get the feeling that your entire life led up to one single moment?" The Calculator was saying. 'Lex Luthor' glanced back at him, at the small man sitting in the chair, the man who had once dressed as his namesake, who wanted so badly to be respected…so badly even his great mind was blinded to the truth.

But then again, that such a great mind was still in the dark only showed that his mind was greater still.

"Daily." 'Lex Luthor' said. "Proceed."

And Calculator did.

* * *

Even as Arsenal looked down on the prisoner he had captured. The area of Alcatraz he was in was currently quiet, the bulk of the villains engaged with the other heroes, so Roy had taken a moment to set up an interrogation. His prisoner: The Tattooed Man, who was on the ground, arrows through both hands, as Arsenal nocked another one. 

"You know, I always thought you had the dumbest gimmick, Tattooed Man." Arsenal said, addressing his prisoner, whose power revolved around physically manifesting the tattoos on his body…a power Roy had disabled via his arrows: Tattooed Man needed to concentrate to manifest his weapons. Hard to do that with arrows through your hands. "As you can probably tell, I'm not kidding around. And I have a lot of arrows. Why are you doing this?"

"I can't…can't tell…can't teeeeeelllll…!" The Tattooed Man whined. Arsenal felt a slight bit of inward satisfaction: he had gambled that the villains might be sharing info even as they broke out on a possible greater plan, and that if that was the case Arsenal could get it…if they were sharing said possible info. Which they had been.

Now he just needed to get it, as he pulled back on the string.

"Yep. Lots of arrows."

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And so Tattooed Man talked.

And when he was done, Arsenal felt like all the blood in his veins had been replaced with ice.

* * *

Oracle stared at the sight. She was rarely stunned. She couldn't be stunned. She's trained herself not to be. 

But even as she saw it happening…she was.

"…Oh…my…god…" She whispered.

"ORACLE!" Came a voice suddenly yelling at her. Arsenal. "It's worse! It's not a five-pronged attack! It's a **_GLOBAL PRISON BREAK!_**"

Something Oracle had realized not two seconds ago, as she saw the red marks all springing up on her map, dozens upon dozens, hundreds, all seemingly at the same time.

And she realized that this wasn't the final skirmish in a giant crisis. This was a whole new one, and it could yet destroy them all.

* * *

"WHAT?" Robin said, even as everyone jerked their heads up from their efforts to attach what jet engines they could to Terra's rock (the problem wasn't so much attaching them, Terra and Rocko's ability to manipulate rock made that easy, it was getting them set up so the Titans would have some degree of control over the machines). "Did you say global prison break?" 

"Yes!"

"…You mean every major prison in the world?"

"No Robin, EVERY PRISON. EVERY SINGLE ONE." Oracle said.

"Oracle, this is Savior." Came Noel's voice as he turned on his own communicator. "Do you have a plan for this?"

"I…" Oracle replied…as she realized Savior's words echoed the last ones Roy had spoken to her: "_Give me the plan sweetie. PLEASE tell me there's a plan."_

They were all looking to her for answers.

And she didn't have any.

Even as screen after screen popped up in front of her, as data flooded her computer, all her connections and attachments firing at once.

"Guards and staffers held hostage…"

"May already be dead…"

"Entire prison emptied within minutes…"

"God they just let them out…"

"Didn't do anything…"

"Just opened the doors…"

The reports could faintly be heard over the Titans communicators, as all of them had stopped to listen in…and they realized that for once, they were facing something that was just far too big for them.

Far too big for anyone.

"…What do we do Robin?" Starfire asked. Robin was silent.

"Savior?" Scalpel asked, as Savior put a hand on his forehead and tried to wrap his mind around the concept…

"…in Detroit, should go stop that…then…then…" Savior said, as he realized he had no idea which way to turn.

Savior's own 'paralysis by analysis' was mirrored in Oracle's mind and heart, but she refused to become a victim of inertia, as she turned to perhaps her most important channel.

"J'onn, it's an escapee PLAGUE. We're outgunned by BATTALIONS of convicts and escaped metas! How close are you to establishing that global telepathic link?"

"This is something I've never done before in turn, Oracle." J'onn replied: reaching out and contacting metahumans, even across the world, was a far far cry to linking his mind with every single one of them, which is what he was trying to do now. Even with as strong as his mind was, as well honed and practiced…J'onn wasn't sure if he could do it.

"Robin! Should we go with the jet engines or just GO?" Terra yelled down. There was no answer for her.

"What do we do Mom?" Floral asked Scorcher. Scorcher, like the Titans, found she had no answer.

And Oracle looked at all the screens, hundreds of them…and wondered for the first time ever if she should just curl in a ball and wish for it to all go away.

"J'onn I don't…" She whispered. "I don't think we can do this without the Justice League."

J'onn didn't need to be a telepath to feel the despair in Oracle's voice, in the minds he was connected to even as he tried to find more and link them together stably, a massive task…one that might take a miracle…a miracle in the face of so little hope…

And then…he realized it. That the number of links was dropping off. That his structure was holding. That his brain was under immense pressure…but it was a weight he could bear.

"Perhaps not Barbara…" J'onn said. "But as of this frozen moment…"

And then it was done.

And everyone, every hero in the world, all found and contacted and connected, heard the words in their brain, even the Titans.

"We are every one of us the Justice League."

And just like that…a calm washed over them, all the many beleaguered superheroes, and some of the fear went away.

And sitting in her chair, Oracle didn't know if it was some power of J'onn's, or the feeling of shared experience with others…the sense of all beings being connected with a greater purpose.

And despite it all, she smiled.

The Society may have set this in motion. They may have planned every detail. They may have planned for every eventuality on Earth…

But J'onn was from somewhere else entirely.

* * *

The calming effect did not spare the Titans, and it was just what they needed. 

"…Ok…all right, Titans! Elementals!" Robin said. "Savior, Scorcher, I want you to take whoever is best into Detroit, stop the local prison break! Everyone else, double time! If we have to we'll go from place to place until we drop!"

"Aye aye Captain. Beast Boy, Starfire, come with me! The rest of you help here!"

"Sally, Antoinette. Come on. We'll back them up." Scorcher said, as the makeshift group ran for the door, even as the other makeshift group did what they could to finish the would-be rock T-Ship.

* * *

And Oracle went back to work. 

"J'onn, we're already getting reports of escapees showing up to help at the NEW prison breakout sites. The idea must have been to break out as much firepower as possible while we were tired and unprepared, then use those people to crack new prisons…and so far it's working."

"This cannot be a makeshift idea. On this scale, it would have to have been put in place a long time ago…how could we not have seen it Oracle?" J'onn asked. Perhaps he would never know the truth: that Alexander had had the Society bribing and threatening people all over the world for months in advance, so that if it came time to do so, most would just open the doors and let their prisoners out. And that is what most had done, mostly for the sake of themselves and their families.

"It seems the good guys haven't been up to snuff on a lot of things lately…but we can make up for it…" Oracle said. "I heard the Rocket Red Brigade just stole back their equipment from the Russian government. People are breaking laws to help us J'onn. We can't fail them."

"I do not plan to, Oracle." J'onn replied, and both went to work again.

But…even after all that…it was too big. Even with J'onn telepathically coordinating it all, it was too big. And to make it worse it was rift with moral issues. Breaking open metahuman prisons was one thing, but did they really want to do something like put Tibetan dissenters back in jail, or prisoners of conscience in the Middle East?

…Just too big…

And if there wasn't a break in it soon, it would soon break them.

* * *

The Titans and Elementals tore into a mass of escaping prisoners…but that was just one of the many many screens that the Calculator watched, as Phase 2 continued on. Forget hell, every single evil dimension there was was spilling out of this C-Section. 

"Report."

"Arkham is fully contained. We've also lost San Quentin and Leavenworth, but overall we're leaps ahead. Total prison evacuation is at 34 percent and growing…oh, and Dr. Psycho has succeeded in his mission with Warp. Though I regret Black Adam is giving Captain Nazi more trouble then anticipated."

"No matter. Every major detail has been seen to. Once everything has reached the required parameters, put Phase 3 into motion. The people, including replacements, are in place around Metropolis. Feel good people. It's almost all done." 'Lex Luthor' said. "I must go for now. I will contact you later."

And with that, the hologram was gone.

And none of them had a clue it would never return. None of them realized that they had all played their parts, and that now the grand puppetmaster would take over for them.

And this time, he couldn't see any flaws or holes that would lead to a last minute turnaround. There was no possible way this could fail.

He was sure of it.

* * *

Strangely, the break that came didn't come from anyone getting in touch with the big guns, still seemingly off in the Arctic, trying to soothe their own consciences, no meta unable to fly up and say hello because of the sheer agony the Earth was in. It didn't come from J'onn or Oracle, or the Titans or Outsiders or any of the many metas and vigilantes that had come out of retirement or obscurity to lend their hand to this final part of the crisis. 

Rather, it came from a group known as the Secret Six, six people dancing on the edge of heroism and villainy, who had their own plans and intentions…but in the end, they did one good thing.

They got information from a villain on Phase 3.

And, due to a favor owed, they gave it to Green Arrow.

"What?" J'onn said, his great concentration making him unsure if he'd heard it right.

"Metropolis, J'onn." Green Arrow replied. "They're going to march straight into $#4& Metropolis."

* * *

"Prison is contained!" Savior announced as the somewhat scuffed but otherwise ok group returned to the construction, which looked to be a few bolt-tightens away from completion. "Where are we going first?" 

"Metropolis." Robin replied grimly.

"What? There surely is…"

"We got new information." Gauntlet said. "It's good, as in we know it's true. The information itself…The final stage of the plan is for every single villain to head to Metropolis. EVERYONE. Metahuman or not."

"…But why Metropolis?" Beast Boy asked.

"Symbolic value." Robin replied. "Superman's city falls…"

"The others fall in turn." Savior finished. "Man, whoever set this up WAS a genius."

"And I guess that leaves no other option for who it could be." Robin said.

"He didn't die." Savior said, as he realized the destruction of the Tower had just been a setback instead of a full stop. "And he's ready to start a whole new war."

"Hey!" Came a yell from a random STAR worker. "We're done! Ready when you are!"

Robin looked at the completed rock platform slash jet platform, and then back at the Titans.

"To paraphrase a certain song, onward Titan soldiers." Robin said.

And everyone headed for the rock, Robin included.

Until a hand stopped him.

"Robin." Savior said. "Quick. You're sure that EVERY villain will head to Metropolis?"

"Yes!"

"…Robin, I just had an idea…the bad news is its immensely risky…the worse news is we may have to do it anyway for the sake of our survival."

* * *

Metropolis. 

All this for Metropolis.

With its champion and shining beacon for heroism nowhere to be found.

Oracle wished she could spare anyone, any body at all, to go and try and make contact. The interference had lessened a bit, but it was still too much, the area was still a dead zone. The only way to tell them would be the old fashioned way: face to face.

And no one could be spared to do it. Not from the sheer mass that was about to descend on Metropolis.

Everyone was doing what they could, trying to wrap up their respective battles (Oracle had finally gotten the belated code to Arsenal, who had used it to turn the power-blocking collars of the villains still in Alcatraz back on, ending that fight pretty much), even as Oracle put out a renewed call to everyone she could. Even the Blackhawks, lead by her friend Zinda, had gotten into it, commandeering every single flying thing that could move to get superpeople and National Guardsmen to Metropolis. J'onn was heading there himself.

Even as well planned as this mass breakout had been, it would take time to assemble such a march. And that just might be enough time to get at least some semblance of a defense in place at Metropolis.

Oracle hoped to god it wouldn't be there just to be slaughtered…

"Oracle." Robin's voice suddenly came on the Titan line.

"Yeah Tim?"

"I'll keep this quick. We have a plan, but it involves us not getting there in time to defend Metropolis from the first attack."

"WHAT?"

"Oracle, listen to me." Savior's voice came in. "Robin and I are in motion, but we want to gather as MANY SINGLE TEENAGE AND CHILD heroes as we can. I know you and J'onn have heavily focused on adults. Leave it to us. We're going to try and assemble every single Titan, official, unofficial, acquaintances, wannabes, friends of friends of friends, all together, and we're going to attack THE REAR of this villain army. I think this would work better overall! It's a pincher movement! And we'll arrive only ten, fifteen, maybe twenty minutes behind the villains if I've calculated everything correctly. But we'll only do it if you agree to it. Otherwise, we'll fly there with what we have."

"…Robin, were you stupid enough to agree with this?" Oracle said.

"He made a good point Babs. By ourselves we'd be breaking against the villain mass like a wave on a cliff. If we get help…we might actually be able to do something."

Oracle was tight-lipped.

J'onn was not.

"Do it Robin. I have faith in you."

"What? J'onn…?" Oracle said.

"I believe that the plan is sound Oracle. They should do it. They shouldn't worry about us. After all, we're doing this for them. For the future."

"…You'd better be fast Tim." Oracle said.

"Oh believe me, I have wings on my feet." Robin said, and signed off. "Ok everyone, start calling! Viridian, are you there?" Robin said back into his communicator.

"Yes…" Came a bored metallic voice.

"You do it too! Hell, call everyone twice, three times, ANYTHING!" Robin said, as he switched channels and began calling someone else.

"Rob." Savior said, as he came up to Gauntlet's side. "Calling Amy?"

"And everyone else." Gauntlet said.

"Good." Savior said, slapping him on the shoulder. "When you're done, call your dad. Tell him to get every single superhero from your crazy town in his giant ass superspy airship thing and fly them to Metropolis! Adult, child, senior citizen, baby, I don't care!"

"Every? That's a lot Noel."

"Tell him that anyone who can't make it up there in twenty minutes gets left behind! They can guard their own city just in case! And if you think you can find a way to convince them, call anyone straddling the fences! Hell, call Pangloss!" Savior said.

"Hey Savior, show me how to work that thing and I can call someone or three." Scorcher said. Savior tossed the communicator at the pyrokinetic and turned to Terra and Rocko. "How's that holding out!" He yelled, in regards to their piloting the crazy-ass combination of rock platform and supercharged jet engines.

"Fine!" Terra yelled back.

"Savior!" Robin yelled. "If you run out of people to contact, come help me set up a pickup list! Without Cyborg…" Robin said.

"Yeah. I know. Don't worry Robin." Savior said. "Even I feel confident in saying this: there is NO way this could get any worse."

* * *

And so the heroes frantically scrambled, as the villains gathered and marched. 

It took a little under three hours.

In the end, they made Oracle proud, all of them, as they stood in a line under the banner that welcomed newcomers to Metropolis, the sign that might welcome the last visitors the city would ever see.

The heroes had arrived scant moments before the villains. But that just pushed them harder to finish the evacuation of the city. Now it stood totally empty, a ghost town. At least whatever happened today, the heroes could fight without worrying about the deaths of innocents.

They tried to send the magic users home: with magic as unpredictable as it was, they could find themselves all defenseless. They wouldn't leave. Neither would the cops, and that showed that you didn't need a cape or powers to be a superhero.

They didn't have the marquee names: hell the biggest and most powerful among them was J'onn, standing in their center like the general he was. Some of them hadn't worn a costume in years.

But they were ready to fight.

Even knowing what was coming.

As they saw the black mass off in the distance, approaching the city. The bad guys literally had an army: despite the damage done in the arctic battles and what heroes had managed to do in the breakouts they still teemed with uncountable metas, not to mention thousands of grateful and eager footsoldiers from the rank and file of the prisons. The villains around Metropolis had carefully slipped away and joined their ranks when the heroes had commenced their frantic mass evacuation.

Who knew how badly the heroes were outnumbered and outgunned?

But despite all that, they stood side by side. From J'onn J'onzz the Martian Manhunter to The Question, from Sparx to Mr. Terrific, from the Ragman to the Odd Man, from Green Arrow to Faith, heroes of all stripes, accomplishments, and beliefs, united in their common creed: the greater good.

They had expected someone like Sinestro to make the first move, or maybe Amazo, but in the end it was the diminutive and hideous Dr. Psycho who was in the lead, dressed in his finest, and looking like the cat that ate the canary…and then every other bird in the pet shop. His troops clustered behind him, a mass of black shapes that were barely illuminated in the setting sun.

"Hello J'onn!" He declared cheerily. "I just wanted to say…_anything you can do, I can do better._" Dr. Psycho said, actually singing the last line. "I'm just here to make sure you don't use your adorable little mind powers on my new best friend. Say hello to him, won't you? He's a little shy."

The heroes had been standing firm despite all this…until the creature Dr. Psycho was calling stepped from the shadows.

And then, just for a moment, they all faltered. As for a moment, they all knew terror of the purest sort.

He utterly towered over the midget mentalist, a mountain of gray muscle and dull white bone, all of it jagged and bladed over his body: claws on his knuckles, spikes on his shoulders, jagged peaks all round his face and a mouth full of sharp daggers. The creature that Dr. Psycho, with Warp, had been specially sent to fetch as the champion of the Society, which he had done, as he pointed behind himself, grinning.

"Let me reveal to you all my new friend." He said. "Doomsday."

Maybe there were worse threats in the Society. But one look at Doomsday and every hero saw what he'd done in the past.

A shattered Justice League.

And a coffin with a red cape on it.

"Call us Phase Three: Goodnight Little Darlings." Dr. Psycho said, drinking in their looks…as far away, on his own screens, another figure looked at the sheer fear that had flashed across every hero's face, and was so moved it brought a tear to his eye.

"Beautiful, their faces." Alexander Luthor Jr said. "It's beautiful…they thought they had won. No. If I can't replace this Earth, I'll use the Society to **_take_** it."

And then he sent his final order.

"KILL THEM ALL."

The heroes were terrified, but none broke ranks.

They were horrified, but they stood firm.

And the shining truth in that moment…

"KILL!" Dr. Psycho shrieked delightedly, and the villain army charged.

…was that never was the line between hero and villain so inescapably clear.

As the villains slammed into the heroes, and the Battle of Metropolis was on.

* * *

And grinning, Alexander Luthor turned from his screens, even as his fingers pressed commands on hard-light terminals, his personal ultra high tech computer system, the Worldview, turning him around. It was time to go join the battle himself, to supervise his victory over the heroes that had failed so badly and then robbed him of his dreams. What he deserved. 

And the fact was, even if he hadn't been able to so masterfully fall back on this, so wonderfully play all these pieces that he had moved into place, even if he only had the one resource left to him…he would still have won.

This would just be much quicker, as he looked upon the being that could have won the day single-handedly for him.

"Come Superboy." He said. "We've stagnated here long enough."

* * *

"Robin, the battle's started…it's not going very well…" Oracle reported, as the Titans flew on. They had spent their time well, and now nearly twenty teen superheroes either joined them on the platform or flew beside them. The Titans knew maybe eight of them: the rest were new faces. It didn't matter. At this moment, if all heroes were the Justice League, then all those who stood with them were Titans. 

"Almost done Oracle. Everyone's in place: we're just picking them up…" Robin said, as he glanced to the side as Argent joined them, waving with her own little group. It hadn't been easy doing the roundup, but it was worth it, as the Titans picked up the small hero group the Aegis next and flew on. Paragon aka Gauntlet's longtime friend Amy joined them two minutes later, bringing nearly a dozen classmates.

"The villains hit the south end of Metropolis…"

"Then we'll hit it too. HARD." Robin replied, as he turned to look at his group. Another five metas he didn't know had joined the pack: at least Robin could take comfort that no villains were going to be sneak attacking them. Raven was checking each other as they arrived, something still within her power to do. In theory she still had the great power given to her by her briefly alive mother: the crazy state of magic meant she just couldn't utilize it very well.

Not that that held everyone back, as a streak of black zipped past the group at an extreme angle, startling most of the Titans.

"What the hell was that?" Scalpel said.

"Was that…Black Adam?" Beast Boy said. Indeed it had been. Captain Nazi had failed in his attempt to neutralize the conflicted warrior of the deceased wizard Shazam, and the attempt had awoken in him a fresh rage that needed a new target. And it didn't take him long to find out where. He'd be getting to Metropolis quicker then the Titans, that was for sure.

"…Ok…that was weird." Robin said, and then Gauntlet was trying to get his attention.

"Dad's on his way…he's got lots of backup, but he'll be about twenty minutes behind us." Gauntlet said.

"I think we have acquired virtually all our old, new, and unknown friends. They're all willing to listen to us…must be Friend J'onn. Robin, your orders."

"…Ok everyone, listen up!" Robin yelled, hoping the wind wouldn't snatch his voice away. "The only order I can give is…watch out for each other…and only kill if you have to…otherwise…there are no rules, no limits, and no laws. This is war." Robin said, and then turned to Savior, who was standing near him. "Hey Savior, got any speeches you can yank out of your ass for added motivation?"

"…As you wish." Savior said. "Hear my words, my fellow Titans. The odds are gravely stacked against us. Chances are, not all of us will make it home alive. That is harsh reality. But even harsh reality is not without hope. Far from it." Savior said, as he began working himself up. "480 BC! King Leonidas of Sparta and his personal guard of three hundred, three HUNDRED, men ready themselves for battle. Like now, the fate of humanity is at stake! Out of Persia thunders the mightiest military force ever assembled, The earth shudders with the impact of its march. It drinks the rivers dry. It devours livestock like some hungry, angry god. It pauses, poised to vanquish tiny Greece, to crush her impertinent invention of democracy and extinguish the only light of reason in the world! The Spartans are outnumbered A HUNDRED THOUSAND TO ONE…but Leonidas has chosen his battle site with care: the mountain pass called Hot Gates. Funneled into this narrow corridor, the Persians find their numbers USELESS. The Spartans hold their ground, just long ENOUGH, for slumbering Greece to wake and rally its sons to war. The hope of civilization is kept alive by a careful choice of where to fight…and what is now called Spartan courage."

Savior was silent.

"Maybe we can't pick where this battle will be fought…much like many of us couldn't pick how we would get our powers, or just how they would affect us, our lives, our futures…I don't know the future. But I know this…they call it Spartan courage? I say we rename it! TITAN COURAGE! WE ARE THE TITANS! TOGETHER!"

And as Savior had hoped, it was answered not with a whimper but a bang, a roar. If heroism had a noise, this might be it.

"Very nice." Robin said.

"Don't thank me, thank Frank Millar. I mostly stole it from him."

Robin facevaulted.

"You really do have a bad habit of taking other men's words, don't you?"

"They can sue me later." Savior said. "Our own personal hot gates approach…except ours may prove to burn with the fires of hell."

The Titans had assembled, as planned, and now they approached Metropolis. They had hoped they were not too late in their choice to gather as they had, to attack as they had.

And yet when they saw it…dread filled them.

Metropolis was burning.

Unlike King Leonidas, the heroes had been unable to hold the villains on their narrow bridge, and they had been swiftly pushed backwards and scattered as the battle tore through the city. Already nearly a third of it was damaged, wrecked, or afire.

Robin's eyes narrowed, as he looked around, at his fellow Titans, all sharing his expression, as they drew weapons and charged powers, as the mass of teenage heroes came up upon the rear of the enemy…and Robin extended his staff even as he drew a Birdarang with his other hand.

"TITANS, GO!"

And the rock swooped down as the geokinetics swung it low.

It hit the ground and slammed into the masses of prisoners: murderers, rapists, arsonists, thieves, gang members, psychopaths, sociopaths, and every other shade of black there was. The normals had mostly held up the rear, eager to pick up the scraps…and found themselves helpless as the Titans tore right through them, crushing their ranks like they were nothing.

Within 90 seconds, they had reached the main battle, and they joined it.

And like gasoline on the fire, the carnage erupted to an even higher level. Hell had truly come to the surface of the Earth.

…And he reveled in it.

* * *

Operation Market Garden. 

It has been discussed many times, and those who know of it know what it means: sometimes there are factors you simply cannot predict that will ruin everything. Even the best can fall prey to this factor, the outside force that had never been thought of, for various reasons.

It had undone the plans of villains and heroes alike. And the uniting factor was that none of them saw it coming.

They never did…

* * *

Building buckled and collapsed. Streets were torn to shreds. Every single object that could be destroyed or used as a weapon was used. It was chaos at its highest, purest form. 

The Titans confronted the strange villain group calling themselves the Superior Five, while Scorcher locked horns and crossed flames with the demonic apathy lord Goth, his maleficent fire blasting against her supreme mastery of it, even while nearby Platinum Blonde traded blows with the equally metallic Girder. J'onn and Dr. Psycho warred on a mental level, even as the Outsider members present briefly teamed up to wail on and hammer into the ground the Fadeaway Man.

And like war, fatalities were coming, swift and terribly, as the mighty villain Bane, the hero Judomaster in his grip, brought the man down on his knee with a horrific cracking noise, shattering his spine, even as Prometheus, his helmet fixed and eager for revenge, fatally shot the hero Peacekeeper in the back. Nearby, the vigilantes Crimson Avenger II, Wild Dog, the teen hero Deadlock, and another one whose name they hadn't caught mowed down whoever they could find in their sights. And they weren't shooting rubber bullets.

"Hey, I thought Phantom Stranger and the other spellcasters fixed the Spectre and were bringin' him in to help!" The Crimson Avenger (II) said as she helped riddle the Trigger Twins with bullets.

"Fixed? Help? I heard when they tried to summon him, he killed three of them and then left!" Wild Dog replied.

"Guess we have to keep shooting then!"

"Guess so!"

And where some used guns others used more traditional weapons, as the new Shining Knight leapt off her winged horse and introduced her mace to the Riddler. Nearby, H-Duo showed he didn't have a speck of rust as he confronted Killer Frost, ice to water, while Zippy furiously battled the cloning villain Multiplex.

And nearby, Floral struggled, her mother cut off from her as she tried to match plant mastery with Poison Ivy and The Floronic Man, but two against one was working against her as she whined, her plants being overwhelmed by theirs.

"Sorry kid, but this is a one-woman show!" Poison Ivy declared, and then wondered why she felt dirty, as Floral screamed…

And then her plants suddenly surged, growing more then she could have ever believed, utterly overwhelming the two villains as they were seized to their shock and horror and dragged away, leaving Floral staring at the sudden change around.

And then she turned, looking at the figure in the shadows, the one that had come to her aid.

"Thank you!" She called. Swamp Thing just nodded.

As Black Adam, fighting for no side but his own, struck a great blow for the heroes as he tore Amazo's head off, the android's adapting powers not working in time to save it, even as the Teen Titans overwhelmed the not really Superior Five with help from an unexpected ally.

"Kurai?" Gauntlet said in confusion, as the Titans behind him struck combat poses.

"Stand down. This is not the time." The Japanese teen replied, his hands still coursing with his immense energy powers. "Slade-sama is dead. Our bond is hence broken. And though our own disagreements are great, Titans, the world in crisis is not a good place to settle them. I shall take my pound of flesh later, Robert, but for now, I will be content to simply revel in this great battle!"

"…Ok." Gauntlet said, and then started as someone grabbed his shoulder.

"Gauntlet, listen up!" Savior yelled, though it was to make sure he was heard over the bedlam around him. "Robin and I have a plan! Listen…!"

* * *

Nearby, an old superhero team, The Blood Pack, out of retirement to save the world, all ganged up on the monstrous villain Charybdis, as Geist, Ballistic, Nightblade, Mongrel, and Razorsharp, perhaps no longer the Blood Pack but still heroes, fought the good fight once more… 

And in a sudden blast of horrendous heat, died fighting it, as a terrible ray of red power washed over the brawling group and vaporized them all where they stood, leaving nothing but charred bones and wet ash.

As the beam of unspeakable power cut off, revealing the armor-clad form of Superboy-Prime.

"I STILL can't tell the heroes from the villains." Superboy-Prime said, and continued walking on.

Alexander Luthor kept surprising himself on things he couldn't believe about Superboy-Prime, as he floated beside him, the two almost casually walking along amidst the war, Alexander Luthor carefully manipulating the Society via his Worldview. He'd known Superboy-Prime had changed…but the depth of the darkness that he'd sank to amazed even Alexander, as he watched Superboy-Prime almost casually kill anyone who crossed his path, like he was stepping on insects. His madness was becoming dangerously unpredictable, and Alexander was beginning to wonder if he was going to have to find a way to deal with Prime himself. After all, the boy was so powerful gods had fled from his coming, the Greek deities fleeing while leaving the mortals helpless before his beyond-messianic might…

"I don't even recognize most of them Alex." Superboy-Prime was saying. "We're using the Society to carry out your new 'plan.' To take THIS Earth instead of REPLACING it."

"Yes Superboy." Alexander replied, as he became away of a greater noise approaching over the other ones, even as the two walked on, strolling through the battles like they were a peaceful park.

As Superboy-Prime slaughtered anyone who came into his viewpoint or grip, as he seized Boss Moxie and nearly twisted his head right off even as his heat vision blasted out and blew apart Baron Blitzkrieg. One hero, one villain, it didn't matter either way to Superboy-Prime: he killed them anyway.

"But I don't like Earth-1!" Superboy-Prime complained. A slight tinge of disgust passed over Alexander: so much power and he was still whining like a child.

"This **_isn't_** Earth-1 Superboy." Alexander said. "It never really was, and now this 'unified' world, this **_NEW EARTH_**, has been altered again. There are changes within its geography, its people, its history. Wonder Woman helped found the Justice Society of America once again. Batman still fights for Gotham, even though his parents' killer was caught. There are recorded rumors of Superman's activities before his appearance in Metropolis. And that's just the beginning." Alexander said. Indeed, the resetting of the world was evident around them: villains who had been reforming or straddling the fence had gone back to the dark side (Bane was a good example: he had seemingly almost redeemed himself before the Crisis, and here he was now, back to breaking backs), which helped Alexander, he supposed.

"I don't **_care_** about **_this_** world's history. I want EARTH-PRIME BACK." Superboy-Prime glowered.

"We **_can't_** bring it back. Superboy destroyed the Tower…"

"HE WAS **_NOT_** SUPERBOY!" Superboy-Prime screamed, as he seized the monstrous insect mutant Charaxes and tore him in half as easily as a normal human could a fly. Alexander Luthor watched the green ichors from the creature's body spray all over the ground, and wondered that if that was how Drury Walker had ever expected it would end: exterminated at the hands of a child with power beyond limit, wiped out like nothing…

And then anarchy exploded in front of the duo, as the Society's champion stormed through: Doomsday, the alien monster that had once killed Superman. Like Superboy-Prime, Doomsday was destroying anything that got in his way: Dr. Psycho had kept him under some mental control at first but that had all gone to battle J'onn, leaving the savage creature to run rampart. Hero, villain, anyone who got in its way felt its terrible power. He was the source of the greater noise Alexander had heard moments ago

As Doomsday tore through a group in front of Alexander and beyond, collapsing a building in front of Alexander and Superboy-Prime. In a way, he had saved the group from dying at Superboy-Prime's hands: maybe some of them still lived after that, whereas none would have survived had Superboy-Prime come after them. The red-haired mastermind couldn't help but wonder what was worse: Superboy-Prime's cold annihilation or Doomsday's near-rabid massacring.

It showed just how sick this world was, how dark. He had to cleanse it soon, lest the poison overwhelm him in turn…

And then Alexander became aware of a figure standing among the dust of the ruins before him. Superboy-Prime saw it too.

"Prime." Savior said, as he stepped from the smoke and ash.

"YOU!" Superboy-Prime yelled.

"You have a lot to answer for. Both of you." Savior said. His calm tone practically screamed to Alexander that he had some kind of plan, but of course it went right over the head of Superboy-Prime, who just saw another grudge to settle.

"You are…" Superboy-Prime said.

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!" Savior yelled, going from calm to furious in a second, an outpouring of outrage and vengeful poison. "This is all YOUR FAULT. And you're both going to pay for it…A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES!"

"What the hell is he talking about?" Superboy-Prime asked Alexander.

"I said SHUT UP YOU SICK DELUSIONAL CHILD! You murdered Superboy!"

"HE WAS NOT…!"

"SHUT UP! HE WAS MORE A SUPERBOY THEN YOU COULD EVER BE! And he's dead! Alive in triumph, and Conner slain! Away to heaven, respective lenity! And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!"

Alexander could see the own fire he possessed ignite in Superboy-Prime's eyes, and he realized just what Savior's suicidal behavior indicated…

"Now, Prime, take the villain back again, that late thou gavest me. For brave Conner's soul is just a little bit above our heads, staying for thine to keep him company, and either though, or we, or both, SHALL GO WITH HIM!"

And with that Superboy-Prime decided he didn't care just what Savior was talking about, he was overdue for death, as his heat vision blasted outward.

Savior leapt up to avoid it, the move choreographed far too much, but Superboy-Prime reacted far too quickly for Savior's dodge to save him, as the armor-clad maniac flew up, his deadly fist snapping out to smash Noel's body like fine glass…

Even as the shadows consumed him, Superboy-Prime only punching the faintest wisps of blackness, Savior pulled away at the last second, as Alexander tried to yell at him, tell him he was being sucked into a…

Trap, as three beams: one green and energy, another red but also energy, and the third a concentrated blast of wind, all slammed into Superboy-Prime, driving him forward…as at least five separate forms came down on top of him, their weight driving him into the ground. Alexander's eyes narrowed: so much power, and yet all it took to lure Superboy-Prime into an attack was some mangled Shakespeare, as the mightiest of the group the Titans had assembled, Scalpel and Beast Boy among them, slammed Superboy-Prime into the ground, the trick they'd tried before but with nearly ten times the impact behind it, as everyone took an extra second to land some blows and then retreated before Superboy-Prime could get his deadly fists or heat vision into the play. Screaming, the teenager reared up…as Raven appeared from the shadows and once again slammed a mental fist into his brain. Superboy-Prime shrieked, and then Starfire flew in, her hands glowing with her emerald power…and slammed them against Superboy-Prime's face as she cut loose with every bit of juice she could muster, an explosion of force blasting into Superboy-Prime's features.

"ARGHHHHHHH MY EYES!" Superboy-Prime shrieked, as Starfire flew back, the evil doppelganger staggering about, temporary blinded, his heat vision disabled…as every teenage hero laid into him with everything they could, the blasters exploding their best against the teenager before the tankers and strength attackers waded in and gave Superboy-Prime everything they had.

And all around them, their actions were mirrored by heroes and villains as they fought for their world, one to keep it free and the other to own it. Brave men and women fell. Blood spilled. Unholy noise rent the air, the sound of war and destruction and pain.

And he drank it all in, as he walked along, feeling it all…and marveling at it. Such a grand plan…such a marvelous place…

Alexander didn't see this, or the Superboy-Prime fight, but he had a rough idea of it all, and it annoyed him…but it didn't matter. Let them all break themselves against Superboy-Prime once more. Maybe this time they would learn there was no power on this Earth or any that could stop him…

And then he noticed it.

There had been minimal clouds in the sky above him, but now…there were many, swirling around and concentrating above the city, blocking out the sun. What the hell was that? Was Weather Wizard or someone in that vein trying something? Were clouds supposed to be that black…?

"You know, you didn't fix anything." Came a voice, and Alexander looked up to see, of all people, Gauntlet nearby, his artifact fully out and ready. "You barely streamlined continuity, and you didn't do anything other people can't mess with later. Me, I blame too few issues. Made the whole thing seemed rushed."

Alexander didn't know what Gauntlet was talking about, but if those accursed Titans thought they could deal with him with just this idiot while the rest tried to stop Prime, they were sadly mistaken, as golden power erupted on Alexander's hands and he blasted at Gauntlet, who dodged.

"Don't tell me what I failed to do! You heroes can't do anything! You're all worthless! Ruined by the darkness of this world, this damned omnipresent DARKNESS!" Luthor snarled, as he blasted at Gauntlet again, who once again dodged.

"Please. Heard it before Luthor, and seen it before." Gauntlet said…and then he became aware of a greater racket behind him. Damn, Superboy-Prime had recovered faster then expected. For a moment Gauntlet was torn. If he took care of Alexander…but he'd seen how terrible Superboy-Prime could be, and his friends were back there, Amy was back there, what to do…

…There really was no choice.

As he dodged another blast of power, leaping close to Alexander in the process.

"Next time, do something original and unexpected…like stealing forty cakes. That's the same as four tens." Gauntlet said.

And then he was gone before Alexander could blast him, as Alexander stood there, lowering his hands. What the hell had he been talking about, cakes…?

And then suddenly Gauntlet was right in front of him again, pointing at him.

"AND THAT'S TERRIBLE!" Gauntlet quipped.

The blast missed again, as Gauntlet bounded away, leaping over to where the battle against Superboy-Prime was going…badly, as Prime hurled Platinum Blonde into the other Elementals and then blasted his heat vision at Kurai, who managed to dodge and counter with a blast that exploded on Superboy-Prime, not harming him in the slightest. Grimacing, Gauntlet gathered all the power he had and leapt in, joining Paragon and Legend in a trio attack, in vengeance of their fallen friends.

And they were all blown away as Superboy-Prime blasted them with Super-breath, even as more Titans leapt in, firing at him, trying to do some kind of damage…

As Raven emerged from the shadows, stopping and taking a quick breather. Well for the moment, magic was holding out: she was a bit worn but still quite capable…

And then it washed over her. She'd been too distracted to notice it when it was subtle, but it was done being subtle: this was POWER. A terrible force. A FAMILIAR force.

And two seconds after feeling it, she remembered Noel's tossed off words…

_"There are two kinds of winners in crises like these: the good guys…or the bad guy who knows just when to step in and take the reins…"_

"No…not now NO NO NO." Raven said in pure fear.

* * *

Well, it looked like the teenager had indeed left with those last strange words…words that angered Alexander Luthor nonetheless. He'd planned this down to the smallest detail, to suggest that he do something so asinine like steal pastry…he was going to rule the world… 

But even that bothered him, as he dispelled his energy powers, turning back to his Worldview, his annoyance increasing with how long this was taking, how well the heroes were holding out…

Never seeing it slide forth from the shadows, flowing up behind him…

Alexander's fingers blurred over the keypads, trying to get it back together, he would not lose…

"…Damn it all." He hissed. "Damn these heroes and their world. Their damned world. But I will make it right. Perfect. Not this ruin. Not all this…dark."

"Dark?"

The voice was new.

"Of course this world is dark."

It was behind him, as Alexander Luthor turned around…at the form floating there, clad in long cloaks and capes of black, eyes of pure ebony looking bemusedly at Alexander Luthor.

"It's mine." Said the Lord of the Night.


	12. Titans: That Hideous Strength

Titans: That Hideous Strength

_**Once upon a time, there was a Crisis.**_

_**Despite considerable efforts to the contrary, the world survived**__**…**__**so to speak. For at the time, there was more than one world, far more. Many died in the Crisis. Those that survived were never the same. But life, in its new forms, moved on.**_

_**There were three who proved vital in the world**__**'**__**s survival, even amongst all the others. Alexander Luthor, avenging his lost universe. Superboy-Prime, doing the same. And Superman, Kal-L, the elder champion, who fought the good fight like so many of his stripe, including his**__**…**__**more enduring self. In the final moments of the last battle, faced with certain death**__**…**__**the three instead retreated to a paradise dimension, to live the rest of their lives in peace.**_

_**But peace is not a matter of place. It is a matter of mind.**_

_**I know that**__**…**__**far too well.**_

_**Kal-L remained who he always was**__**…**__**Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime did not. Denied any chance of a normal life, and allowed to see into the world they**__**'**__**d saved, their anger grew at how it moved on, how many poor choices and failings there were. In their anger, they found their viewpoint was not just a mirror. It was a pond, whose ripples could alter reality itself.**_

_**In their fury, they wrought many changes. But they were changes without control, without design. And seeing what could be, Alexander Luthor made a choice.**_

_**He broke free of the paradise dimension. He came to the world whose survival he ensured. Not to show it where it had gone wrong, but to change it until he deemed it was right.**_

_**And where his mind could not succeed, the strength of his champion, Superboy-Prime, served, the once noble teenager warped by the failings of the so-called paradise he had entered, and under the light of yellow stars possessing powers perhaps beyond anything the world had ever seen, past or present.**_

_**Alexander**__**'**__**s plans came to fruition. Reality splintered. The lone world became many once more. And Alexander had all elements of existence at his command, as he sought to make a perfect world.**_

_**But**__**…**__**like all before him, Alexander failed. Many united against him, just like he had once stood united with them against a destructive force. Strangely, one of the primary lynchpins were children I knew well**__**…**__**the heroes who called themselves the Teen Titans.**_

_**Superboy, Conner Kent, was a honorary member. It was he who shattered Alexander**__**'**__**s control over reality, at the cost of his life.**_

_**Alexander regrouped, as best he could, uniting an army of villains in an attempt to claim the world: if he could not have his ideal, he would settle for control over what was. But the heroes marshaled once more to fight him. Including the Teen Titans.**_

_**And I**__**…**__**I seek what is mine.**_

_**Alexander Luthor has tried to usurp me. Perhaps many would say he has.**_

_**But the battle has not ended yet.**_

_**And Alexander Luthor is about to realize that darkness is but a word.**_

_**The reality is something else**__**…**_

_**I am The Lord.**_

_**This is MY world.

* * *

**There was more to the story__…_

_Once, there had been a being called the Anti-Monitor. Born of pure malice in a dimension of anti-matter, he had done what his nature compelled him to do, and tried to destroy everything in existence save what he desired. _

_He was stopped, at great cost. A bitter irony was, due to the manner of his defeat, most couldn__'__t even recall it. _

_But some remembered, and in the files and memories of those who kept such things, he was considered the greatest threat to life and the nature of existence it was a part of that had ever existed, capable of wiping out universes and all that lay within them, a being of incalculable strength and durability. Supposedly invincible._

_But the factors that were the Anti-Monitor__'__s strengths also proved to be his weaknesses, for his existence and the power that came from it was due to his dual creation with his brother the Monitor, who had driven the Anti-Monitor to stalemate in the past and kept him from originally accomplishing anything. Even when the Anti-Monitor had discovered the means to increase his already staggering power by destroying positive matter universes, ending the deadlock and seemingly signaling victory, the Monitor had responded with a series of plans and countermeasures designed to thwart the Anti-Monitor__'__s supposedly assured triumph. In the end, those plans had included joining together the heroes of five worlds, plans that had been so carefully crafted they continued on even after the Monitor__'__s death (a death he had foreseen, at that). Plans that had ultimately ensured that every attempt the Anti-Monitor made to annihilate the last of the multiverse failed, including his last stand, where every hero on the planet united to finally destroy him._

_Despite his loss, the danger the Anti-Monitor represented had never diminished. _

_The greatest threat? _

_Perhaps... _

_But in the end it had been stopped__…__and why not?_

_For two of the key elements in that battle against the Anti-Monitor had been Alexander Luthor Jr and Superboy-Prime._

_Now a new crisis had come__…__and things were drastically different._

_There had been no Monitor to see it coming and make plans, no force to unify the heroes, even as said heroes fractured and fell to personal bickering. Bickering that had been used to maximum effect by a brilliant mind, a mind corrupted by isolation, human failing and resentment, a mind that had built an incredible framework, and exploited many events both created and molded on and by its design to bring about the return of the multiverse. A masterful manipulation that almost saw victory, much like the Anti-Monitor__'__s own efforts. A victory that might yet emerge._

_Except that one of the elements, perhaps the primary one, of his possible conquest had gone beyond anything Alexander Luthor could have expected._

_In a way, it oddly mirrored Barry Allen__'__s great sacrifice in the original Crisis. The Anti-Monitor had had no idea that Allen could have done what he did on his final race, and that perhaps, more then anything, had cost him._

_And now it had happened again, except the scales had swung the other way in the descent of Superboy-Prime._

_Who now, perhaps, was more dangerous then the Anti-Monitor. For all his power, the Anti-Monitor had an organized resistance, backed around a sole, knowable goal that the heroes could thwart, all controlled by a benevolent other who had died so that worlds could live._

_There was nothing like that opposing Superboy-Prime: all that faced him were ragtag groups that had tried their hardest and yet could not harm the insane child, whose powers had hit levels never expected. The sole hero of a gone universe, granted enough might to protect it all, might he never got to use__…__might now used in the service of a poisoned mind, lacking any kind of restraint or stability._

_The DC Universe had seen many godlike threats, but as Batman could tell you, the most dangerous factor of a villain was unpredictability._

_And nowhere greater does chaos thrive in righteous, misunderstood madness._

_And unlike last time, there was only one universe to destroy. And Superboy-Prime definitely had the power to do it._

_More dangerous then the Anti-Monitor?_

…_perhaps._

_Let the heavens tremble__…

* * *

_And perhaps…

More then anything mentioned before that signaled how dangerous a threat Superboy-Prime was…

The Anti-Monitor may have had incalculable power…but he had limits. It had been shown he was capable of being worn down and wounded, even if such successes were only capable due to extreme measures like Dr. Light II (granted her powers during the original Crisis by the Monitor) absorbing the entire power of a star and then hitting the Anti-Monitor with it. In the end, he had proven not to be invincible after all.

Nothing like that had shown in the face of Superboy-Prime. He had been confronted with the mightiest forces that the planet Earth could muster and he hadn't slowed down an iota. His strength remained at maximum power. He had broken free of the Phantom Zone and his Speed Force imprisonment. He had shrugged off everything and anything people could bring against him.

The Titans knew that.

And perhaps…the saddest thing…was that Superboy-Prime couldn't fathom why they STILL continued to fight despite that understanding. Never mind they couldn't even touch him, how could any false heroes of this dark world muster this kind of willpower?

So to speak.

"Please. This is the worst try yet." Superboy-Prime said, as he floated near the ground, his face alight in the wicked sadism that had so recently become his driving force.

Every bit of explosive weaponry that Robin, the Uberton hero Bio-Weapon, and an obscure beast mutate superhero called Fuzzball could bring to bear was promptly dropped on Superboy-Prime, the blast rocking the street.

Gauntlet wasn't expecting much, and he got nothing, as the smoke cleared to reveal the Kryptonian unharmed.

"God, I'm starting to think Einstein was on to something with that time is relative thing. I feel like we've been fighting this guy for _YEARS_." Gauntlet complained, as Starfire, Scalpel, and Legend went charging in again. Starfire attacked with Starbolts, even as Scalpel and Legend brought their claws to bear, slashing at the teenager.

Superboy-Prime barely seemed to notice, as he grabbed Scalpel and hurled him into Starfire, both of them crashing violently into a building which promptly collapsed on them, even as Superboy-Prime kicked Legend so hard it sounded like another bomb going off, the alien flying down the street and crashing violently into a car, where she fell to rest among other fallen teenage heroes.

Burning energy slammed into Superboy-Prime, and he turned to look at Kurai as the Japanese teen poured it into him, the destructive blast exploding against Prime but not even scorching him. Superboy-Prime looked on with bemused annoyance as Kurai opened up the throttle even more, the skin on his hands and arms sizzling into terrible blisters as he unleashed all his power, refusing to believe that his might couldn't at least do some damage, ANY damage, but even as the force being exerted against Prime began to tear the streets and buildings around him apart, the insane Kryptonian continued to float there…

And then the energy cut out as Kurai collapsed, nearly passing out as he gasped for air. He didn't have any more to give. And everything he'd exerted had been for naught, as he looked at the armor-clad teen, who grinned.

"That was nothing." Superboy-Prime said, his eyes going red with his own crackling power.

Kurai's eyes narrowed.

And the heat vision tore at him.

"MY ONE REGRET IS THAT I NEVER TOOK YOUR HEAD, ROBERT YOU DOG!" Kurai yelled.

And then a green St. Bernard was slamming into him, just pushing him out of the way before the blast hit, the two teenagers hurled through the air as rocky shrapnel sliced across their bodies, Beast Boy turning back into human form as he and Kurai came to a rest from their tumble.

"…What…why did you…" Kurai said.

"No more death." Robin said, as Terra flew overhead, a ten-ton piece of the densest bedrock she could find with her as she hurled it at Superboy-Prime.

Superboy-Prime punched it so hard it literally exploded into DUST, the backlash hurling Terra backwards as she crashed to the ground.

Super-intense beams of fire and water then slammed into Superboy-Prime, but they bothered him about as much as Kurai's attack, as he turned and fired heat vision at Scorcher and H-Duo in turn: the only thing that saved _them _from death was a last second rock platform courtesy of Rocko rising up before them, and even then the shockwave of the impact the ocular attack made against the shield drove them both back and out into the open for a follow-up shot.

It never came, as in the next second, an angry and vicious Red Star came crashing down on Superboy-Prime, screaming vengeance.

Two seconds after that, Red Star went crashing into the concrete, his right arm and ribcage a shattered mess. And that had been a GLANCING blow.

Savior landed nearby, trying to spot an opening, even as Bumblebee, Argent, Killowat, Prysm, and two teenage metahumans with blaster powers whose name Savior couldn't remember all opened fire on Superboy-Prime, another hellstorm of destructive energy exploding against him. And it still didn't do anything; hell even Superboy-Prime's cape remained mostly intact…

As Superboy-Prime blew all the blasters away, literally, the wind coming from his mouth hitting hurricane speeds in seconds, and even though it wasn't of the freezing variety it still tore through Superboy-Prime's attackers…

As Savior jumped on his back and rammed the Shimmer home.

"ARGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Superboy-Prime yelled, as Savior desperately tried to hold on, to keep away from his fists, even as he tried to jack in and tear apart Superboy-Prime's brain…

Superboy-Prime began to spin, and Savior found he couldn't hold his grip as he was hurled off, the Shimmer trailing out as Savior tried to keep it inside Superboy-Prime's head…

Superboy-Prime seized it, and with one quick jerk yanked it out of his ear.

And then he seized it with his other hand and yanked as hard as he could, ripping the energy talent in half.

A whole new pain hit Savior so hard and fast it knocked him cold, as he crashed through the lower levels of a building and came to a rest in the sewers below the basement, unconscious.

Though he didn't technically go through any windows: they were already broken.

Robin was getting a sick feeling in his gut as he saw all this happening, even as he hopped over some rubble to where two more of Gauntlet's friends/acquaintances from Uberton were doing…something. One was a hero called Gauss Lad, with magnetic powers: he was pulling metal towards a central sphere and…crushing it into said sphere? The other Robin didn't recognize, though his armor suit looked somewhat familiar. He was helping bring any metal they could find to the sphere and holding it up…

Wait…

"Peregrine?" Robin asked Armored Suit Teen, who looked at him.

"Yes?"

"…Wait, what happened to the other Peregrine?" Robin found himself asking.

"You got me! I just found this suit in the trash!" 'Peregrine II' said, as he directed another car towards the sphere and Gauss Lad crushed it into the central mass…and Robin finally realized what they were doing.

And then Raven appeared from the shadows, greatly startling the two Uberton teenagers.

"Robin!" She gasped, and at first Robin thought she was exhausted, another swing in the state of magic at the moment. Then he realized it wasn't exhaustion. It was terror. And Raven didn't scare easily. The sick feeling within him increased.

"What is it Raven?"

"It's him…he's here…"

"Who?"

"Hey we're done! Move!" Gauss Lad yelled, even as Gauntlet and Paragon made another dual effort at their enemy, backed up by Beast Boy as an ankylosaurus: the pair hurled him at Superboy-Prime, as he curled into a ball in mid-trip.

Superboy-Prime slapped him aside, and even THAT nearly broke every bone in Beast Boy's dinosaur body, as Gauntlet and Paragon jumped the armored teenager themselves, their fists and artifact pounding on him.

Another glancing blow sent Gauntlet into Paragon before they both went crashing into the street, smashing another crater into the battered landscape. A crazy thought occurred to Robin: if he survived this he was never going to complain about potholes again.

Gauss Lad and Peregrine II were floating past him, holding up their makeshift weapon…and Robin saw Raven was helping them, immense strain on her face, as they hurled the sphere at Superboy-Prime, their respective talents slamming it across his face.

His head snapped back violently.

The orb was let go, crashing into the street and vanishing into it, a small hole the only indication it had been there in the first place.

And then Superboy-Prime swiveled his head back around, murder in his eyes.

"…That was 10,000 tons of hyper-compressed metal and he just shook it off like it was a tennis ball." Gauss Lad said in utter shock.

A low animal noise came from Superboy-Prime's throat, a snarling sound of rage.

"Robin…" Raven said, even as Robin stared at the teenager.

He started forward, perhaps even began yelling an order.

And then all noise was consumed by the sonic boom as Superboy-Prime once again slammed his forearms together and obliterated everything around him with the mother of all force shockwaves. All the buildings around Prime collapsed, and dust and smoke exploded into the air.

When it cleared, Superboy-Prime floated there, the anger having not faded, looking at the fallen and broken Titans around him. He'd had it. That white-haired one had said something about them joining the fake Superboy, Superboy-Prime was all for that, as his eyes glowed red…

* * *

And a few minutes before these events, Alexander Luthor did himself credit and only managed to be stunned for about a second.

"…So, some third-rate lunatic rears their ugly head with the thought that he can just walk in and take over. Or am I assuming wrong?" Alexander said.

"Don't bother with the supposed confidence, Alexander Luthor. I can read you like a book." The Lord said, his cloaks of black flapping around him, one around his shoulders and one around in his waist, the rest of his body clad in black metallic armor, one arm seemingly human and the other composed of black shadow, minutely shifting in time with his velvet black irises, his ebony hair drifting in the breeze. "Though I will pay you the compliments you deserve. This was truly a masterful plan."

"And one that fully took your breed into account. Or did you really think I didn't expect creatures like YOU returning from death?" Alexander said.

"Please Alexander, I…"

And then the Lord jerked backwards as a laser beam sliced over his left shoulder, and snapped his arm up and returned fire with a blast of destructive energy, the attack flying past Alexander Luthor and striking the superhero Technocrat, who exploded in a dark eruption of fire.

"Do hate when I'm interrupted." The Lord said, lowering his arm as Luthor glanced at the remains of the hero, and then back at the Lord, who continued without missing a beat. "The Spectre could have found me. He didn't. You thought I WAS gone, and not a factor. You were wrong. I am because this is not your world to claim. It's MINE, and I'll be damned if you try and usurp me."

"Don't make me laugh." Alexander replied. "You're already damned. You're everything that's wrong with this world. All the delusion, the greed, the sickness. The futility of the sacrifices I made."

"What were you expecting, choosing the side of the human race all those years ago? And you've come back to the dance too late to switch sides and lead, Alexander." The Lord said, as he made a circular gesture, indicating the city around them. " But all these heroes and competition in one place, tearing themselves apart, very…practical. You could always get a hint and switch to the winning side."

Alexander snorted in laughter. The Lord's eyes narrowed a touch.

"Or you could laugh at me." The Lord said, sounding resigned. "I should expect nothing less from a Luthor."

"And I should expect nothing more then someone as unoriginal and worn out as your kind, 'Lord'. You speak words that have come forth a thousand times from a thousand voices, and all of them are united in their failure. Your voice included, bested repeatedly by those Titans."

"Those Titans will yet best _you_, Alexander. I watched your great Tower fall personally."

"Then you should know you're irrelevant. By showing your face, you've already lost. I know everything about you, 'Lord'.."

"Then you should know that the darkness of this world, the darkness you so despise, is overflowing on this battlefield. And you should know that such a fact is like standing on a giant battery for me, on top of all I already command." The Lord said, holding up a hand again, his tone momentarily growing wistful. "I hear it…I feel it…so powerful, in my veins. The pulse, the beat, sounding out the last battle. The drums of war march in my head. Can you hear it Luthor? Can you hear the drums?"

"It doesn't matter WHAT instrument you hear. I know what harms you. And I have the means to bring it to bear like you've never seen before."

"Oh, you mean the Superboy? That whining emo bastard? You think he poses any kind of a concern for me?" The Lord said.

"Now who's putting up a false front?" Alexander replied. "You know what he is, what he can do. He'll send you after the other 'lords of shadows' that have walked this earth. You, just the latest in a long line of pitiable minds and forth-rate abilities."

"Oh, and you speak as if YOU are so original! A hero, fallen to the dark side, I've NEVER seen _THAT _before!" The Lord snarked. "I could go into any movie store, find any James Bond movie, rip the villain out and stick him in your place, and I doubt I'd see more then a few iotas of difference between them and you."

"At least I know my goals. What do you really have? Destruction and creation from a man so flawed that he hates himself and cannot comprehend a world with him or without him."

"Ah, so you once again show your supposed sagacity, thinking yourself so great because of a well executed plan." The Lord said. "It can't hide how strained your fingernails are, Luthor. You set it up and started it, but you no longer control it or how it will end. This is no longer a chess game: it's a game of _Mouse-Trap. _Full of sound and fury, signifying NOTHING."

"You dare call ME uncreative? A zealot of shadow, unsatisfied with the world. Echoes of Batman without a real quest or the restrictions to be interesting."

"What…"

"RAAAAAAAUUGGHHHHH!!!" Evil Star bellowed, as he crashed into the Lord from the side, knocking him from his perch…

The Lord's body broke apart, shadow tendrils seizing the alien warlord and pulling him into the shifting darkness his form had become. There was a terrified scream, and then a giant eruption of blood flew from the shadowy morass, a mangled mess falling to the ground as the darkness flowed back up and reformed into the Lord.

Though not even shaking the blood off his hand could hide how aggravated the Lord was to have been interrupted. Again.

"…perhaps I should let that speak for itself." The Lord said, trying to recover.

"Oh, you mean your power? Feh." Alexander said. "What you have is nothing."

"And what YOU have is a mad child throwing a temper tantrum, the last vestiges of your control soon to be shaken off. He bleats about how he's going to be Superman…shuh, what a joke. Superman is at least something to be noticed. Despite all his power, all I can do is laugh at him and his little crybaby antics. He's pathetic. Just like _you_." The Lord said. "No matter what the world, neither you nor your father can win. At least this world's Lex Luthor has the common sense to apply his genius to self-gratification. When the wave of white consumed him, what did your father have to show for his efforts? A WEAK LITTLE NOTHING LIKE YOU. Fighting the good fight leads to a false heaven, switching sides the same psychasthenia that so many have found before. He would have been better off putting a toy poodle in that rocket for all the good you've done." The Lord said.

Alexander's eyes narrowed as intense rage flashed across his face…but only for a moment.

As it was followed by…amused satisfaction. The Lord's eyes narrowed: he'd thought he'd had the last word there.

"…Well, I suppose you'd know first-hand what it's like to be a weak little nothing." Alexander said. "Wouldn't you…Richard."

And Alexander Luthor accomplished something that very few had ever did: he, as the Lord himself had, made the Lord of the Night looked absolutely and utterly stunned.

Golden power exploded on Alexander's hand.

The Lord knocked his arm aside before he could strike, his fist slamming into Alexander's face and briefly staggering him, as strong fingers seized the front of Alexander's outfit and yanked him up. Alexander cleared the cobwebs and looked down at the simmering fury he'd awakened in the Lord through one simple word.

"…I underestimated you, Alexander Luthor. You have learned more, and know more, then I ever would have expected. But NOW YOU KNOW TOO MUCH." The Lord said, as terrible claws appeared on his free hand. "But don't worry Luthor. You won't be alone. As soon as I'm done with you, that stupid wannabe joke of a Superboy is following right after…"

The blow was so titanic in its impact that it actually bruised Alexander's sternum, as Superboy-Prime flew in and slammed his fist across the Lord's face, nearly tearing his head off before he crashed into the ground with a thunderous explosion of noise.

Stunned, Alexander dropped back down onto his World View. That had been far too close, as he looked up at Superboy-Prime, the armored teen's eyes awash in fury.

"Thank you for your assistance, Superboy, though I must say…"

"Shut up Alex. I didn't do this for you. I heard him. NO ONE CALLS ME STUPID." Superboy-Prime said, clenching his fists.

Alexander looked at Superboy-Prime, and the worry bloomed in him again, as he remembered the Lord's words; that Superboy-Prime had almost fully slipped his bonds…and Alexander realized he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

The shadow flowed back up, once again forming back into the Lord. He did not look happy.

"Well, I'm amazed your peanut of a brain could comprehend something like a sneak attack." The Lord snarked.

Beams of terrible heat flew at the Lord, and he dodged aside…right into Superboy-Prime's second punch. It proved even more devastating then the first one, as the Lord flew across the entire street and crashed into a building, which promptly collapsed on him.

"You're dead." Superboy-Prime hissed, and gave chase.

Alexander watched, and he wondered: the Lord had acted like he wasn't worried about Superboy-Prime, but Alexander had gathered from his words that he'd been waiting for a bit to try and jump into the race, gathering information while he waited. And if that was the case, surely he knew the source of Superboy-Prime's power…

And whether that would be a factor, as a hand of black suddenly exploded from the ground and seized Superboy-Prime, stopping him dead, and moments later a gigantic eruption of black power exploded from the rubble of the building as the Lord floated out.

"That…HURT." The Lord hissed, his chest smoking. "So, you would stand in the way of my destiny. I knew you would. I am still _EXTRAORDINARILY pissed off_."

The Lord held out his hand. A five-foot double-bladed katana appeared in it, even as he once again snapped out his claws, his cloaks billowing around him.

"_NOW THERE WILL BE VIOLENCE."_

And with a scream, Superboy-Prime broke free of his bonds and lanced at the Lord.

Their impact was so violent it knocked Alexander Luthor off his World View. As he sprawled on the ground, staring at the holocaust that had been unleashed, he realized that he'd been bluffing too much in his words with the Lord. He didn't like the variables for this, not at all.

But that didn't mean he was helpless. Hell no, as Alexander got up and got back on his World View. The Lord dismissed him as a joke? Alexander would show that second-rate Shade who the REAL laughingstock was.

He wasn't going to lose.

* * *

In a battle of gods and monsters, he somehow managed to stand out, perhaps due to his odd clothing. Then again, perhaps 'odd clothing' should not be a description of beings who regularly wear their underwear outside of their pants, but despite this fact, he stood out.

Possibly because instead of any kind of costume he was wearing black and white puritan clothing, right down to the long white socks and buckled shoes.

If that wasn't strange enough, his skin was a blueish-white color, and his black hair was done up in a way so that each side pointed up like a horn. Definitely someone who caught the eye.

He was also young, and carrying a large orange cat, who hissed and clawed at the creature before him. It was called Shrapnel, a living mass of sharp metal with a very poor sense of humor.

"Oh my Teekl, we may be in a spot of trouble." The blue boy said: dealing with mortal flesh was one thing but a creature made entirely of metal, he couldn't recall any instructions for that, after all, he'd seen what one great beast of iron had done to the mighty Horigal, yet he couldn't just stand there while the unpleasant creature moved to crush him…

In the end, he didn't have to do anything, as lines of white suddenly erupted from the ground, and with a bellowing snarl Shrapnel tumbled into the pit among a storm of rock, as the blue boy's eyes widened in surprise.

Savior pulled himself free even as he yanked more debris down on the metahuman that he'd caused to fall into the ground: he hoped he hadn't taken out one of his teammates…

"Bravo! Bravo! That was so abrupt and exciting, white stranger!" Came the voice, and Savior turned his battered face to look at the blue boy, who was clapping excitedly at Savior's gamble. Well, he wasn't attacking Savior, so he guessed he'd picked right in who was the villain.

"Uh, thanks." Savior said. "…Do I know you?"

"I am Klarion sir, of Bleak Villa, Shackle Streets, Limbo Town, come to your world of Blue Rafters…"

"Wait wait wait…Klarion?" Savior asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"The Witch-Boy?"

"Hopefully forever!" Klarion the Witch-Boy said, grinning a grin of pure delight, as if being reminded of his youth was the best thing in the world.

Savior stared, as he tried to match up scraps of info in the back of his head with what he was seeing. Klarion the Witch-Boy was supposed to be a very powerful extra-dimensional child-creature…and that didn't fit with the elated child before him, who had seemingly enjoyed Savior's emergence so much, as if everything he saw was new and wondrous…wait…

"Do you know who I am?" Savior asked.

"Sorrowfully not sir, I have only begun to glimpse some of your world, despite the great things I have seen and done…"

"…Are you on my side then?"

"Alliances in this chaos are quite questionable, but I find one side's violence to be far more feckless then I have a taste for. But Teekl here seems to have no reason to try and claw your eyes to bloody sockets, so I will assume you are of a sort decent enough for me to abide by."

"…Great." Savior said…and then the voice slammed into his head.

"…_avior!"_

"Raven?" Savior asked.

"Raven? I know no raven. Have you forgotten my name already? For shame white stranger…and if you refer to the bird I am afraid now is not the time for my familiar to seek prey, as much as he may disagree with me…" Klarion said, before Savior held up his hand. "Ah, you offer me someth…stranger your hand is empty, it is rude to act in such a deceitful manner…"

"No no no, just…be quiet please. I'm…busy." Savior said. "What is it Raven?"

"What strangeness is this, that…ah I see. You speak to another within your own head. It is understandable now." Klarion said: Savior didn't know how the Witch-Boy had figured that out but he'd live with it, as he tried to tune into Raven's head again.

"_We need you to get back as soon as you can! Are you hurt?"_

"I'll live."

"_Then get here! This situation just somehow got even worse!"_

"Oh god, how could…"

A gigantic explosion of noise blasted through the city, as Savior and Klarion recoiled. A few seconds later, Savior realized something chilling: that hadn't been a detonation noise. It had been an impact noise.

The sound of a blow.

The loudest one he'd heard yet, and he'd heard some potent ones over the past several battles.

But what could make such an intense…

"Oh my! What a magnificently expressed sound, to be heard so well over this cacophony! Do you know what it was, white stranger?" Klarion asked.

Savior knew. Raven had just told him, and for a moment Savior suddenly felt weak in the knees.

"…I'll be there as soon as I can. Raven, make sure you tell J'onn this."

"_I'__m trying, he__'__s still engaged in a deadlock with Dr. Psycho, but he needs to warn the heroes, they have to get out of the way of this__…__!__"_

Another thunderous crack of noise exploded over the city, and Klarion laughed again, while Teekl folded his ears and let loose with a low moaning hiss, not liking the racket as much as his master did.

"I don't see how we can't." Savior said, and looked at Klarion. "Look, Klarion was it…you may want to take cover."

"You wish for me to steal blankets?"

"NO! I mean…just be careful."

"Why do you give me such a warning? Is it because of that noise? What is that noise anyway?"

"Nothing good." Savior said, as he threw out a Shimmer strand.

"White stranger, if I do not see the noise for myself, how can I tell if I should consider it good or…" Klarion trailed off as Savior swooped away. "Well, how rude to leave in the middle of a conversation…then again he did seem quite preoccupied to begin with…"

Teekl suddenly hissed again.

"Brother Klarion." The cat suddenly spoke, his ears pulled down again. "Someone else approaches, and I have severe doubts that they will prove as entertaining. They reek of blood."

"Do they now…" Klarion said. "Well then, perhaps the scent of blood calls for a certain response…"

"Be wary Brother Klarion. Forget not the troubles of last time…"

"I remember them quite well, Teekl. And you need not worry this time. The witch-women may learn secrets the men never do…but I was always quite good at learning what I should not…" Klarion replied, turning his head to see what his cat-familiar had sniffed out…as Mr. Zsasz emerged from the shadows of some wreckage, blade gripped in his hand, eyes almost concealed behind shades or a mask, it wasn't exactly clear which. He was shirtless, and his skin was absolutely covered in scars, all in the four and one diagonal mark across that served as a universal signal for a tally. Klarion thought he might have seen him earlier, when he'd been assisting other heroes in a group battle before he'd broken away and wandered over here.

"Well…what a strange one…but strangeness does not change the worthlessness behind it all…come then…" Zsasz said. Klarion's eyes narrowed.

"I pity you if your eyes are so blind that they classify all they see as worthless, but if you wish to do me harm, you will find I am not as frail as I appear to be…COME HORIGAL COME! HORIGAL HUNT!" Klarion loudly chanted.

Zsasz was never sure what had happened: one moment he had been looking at a small boy and an orange cat, and then…they were something else, a monster, of blue flesh and orange fur, one that had seized him before he could retreat, a monster that had as little mercy as he did, and less.

Such was the power of some of Limbo Town, as Zsasz found in his last moments that the final cut was indeed the deepest.

* * *

Savior would have frowned on such extreme tactics, but he wasn't there, as he swiftly made his way back to where the Titans had attempted to battle Superboy-Prime. His heart sank at the sight, of all his teammates and those who had come to help him lying on the ground, some unconscious, some injured, some in pain, and some in deep shock. Robin was still on his feet, trying to put on a strong face for the others. Admirable, but now was not the time to respect such things, as Savior dropped down next to him.

"What's the situation Tim?"

"The good news is, no apparent losses. The bad news is that we can probably muster 60 percent of our ranks again at most, and it wouldn't be much of an offense. And considering the situation…even if it was a hundred percent, such a choice would probably be suicidal."

Another tremendous explosion sounded over the teenager's heads, making both the teens recoil; they both looked up into the sky, at a sight Savior would have never guessed he would see.

Superboy-Prime…and the Lord of the Night, trading blows…well, trading was generous. Superboy-Prime was just furiously punching, trying to hit the Lord, and not having much luck at it. The Lord was having more luck with his attacks. The massive impacts were when the two of them caught each other with respective strikes, hitting each other simultaneously…something the Lord seemed to get the worse of, as he tumbled away from Superboy-Prime.

And Prime's lack of certain aspects immediately became apparent, as he didn't immediately go after the Lord but floated there for at least three seconds, no doubt gloating before he actually gave chase…and it cost him as he missed the Lord completely with his diving punch, as the Lord dodged behind him, and as Superboy-Prime whirled back around the Lord snapped up his foot, violently kicking Superboy-Prime under the chin. It didn't seem to floor him as much as Prime's blows to the Lord did, but it clearly wasn't ignored either.

"…How did this happen…" Savior found himself thinking out loud.

"Why wouldn't it?" Raven said, as she floated down near the two teenagers. "It's perfect. A backup plan that's slapdash in a sense, commanding holes the original plan didn't have, heroes and villains wearing themselves out, a mastermind seemingly ripe for the plucking…how could the Lord not pass this up?"

"BECAUSE HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD." Scalpel hissed, making Savior jump: he really was distracted if he couldn't have sensed the badly battered alien approaching him.

"He's been dead before." Robin said.

"…do you think he can win?" Savior said.

"All I know is I doubt my neurotoxin will work on the Lord." Scalpel said, as he produced a strange-looking syringe from inside his coat.

"…where did…"

"I procured it at the STAR Labs, when things started going all to _gyuveh_. I believed it could be useful…even though I did not get a chance to use it. Maybe for the best…even with it in the strongest hypodermic I have, I suspect it would have broken on Prime anyway."

"We ALL broke on Prime." Savior said grimly. Other teenagers were joining the Titans, some familiar faces and some not. Savior looked at them, and marveled that they were still willing to fight. If he'd been placing bets he would have laid odds on desertions having started by now. Then again, he'd never had the greatest faith in his own species.

Yet these teenagers still had faith in them…in the T the nine Titans wore. They were looking to them for guidance.

In the end Robin picked that up as well.

"Raven…well, any idea?" Robin asked. To her credit, Raven didn't ask for clarification.

"I don't know. It's true that considering Superboy-Prime's powers, the Lord would seem to be at a disadvantage…not even considering the _level _of those powers…but if WE know that, the Lord surely does as well, and he surely has a plan…whether or not it has holes in it that will prove its undoing this time, I don't know. But I almost hope he wins. At least he has a known weakness to exploit."

"Yeah. Can't say that for Emoboy Von Doom though!" Gauntlet said as he walked up, his Ubertron fellows with him. "Didn't he read his contract? EVERY villain is supposed to have some kind of weakness! Something we can use! Otherwise how are we supposed to win?"

"Maybe this is the time where that doesn't happen. Maybe this is the first villain without something to exploit." Savior said. "Maybe the only way to win this is sheer attrition…and we all see how _that__'__s _going…in this case if at first we don't succeed, maybe someone else should do it."

"I'm not getting anything clear from J'onn, though I think he said he'd try and make sure to tell every hero about this sudden change, and for people to get out of the way. Anyone who gets in the way of THAT is going to regret it…that's the only clear thing though." Raven said. "The rest…well, someone MIGHT have finally gone to try and tell the heroes in that dead zone in the Arctic what's going on, but we can't count on that. Rob, what about your dad?"

"In theory, he should be here any minute. In reality…might be two minutes, might be ten."

"He'll help anyway. The heroes are getting some reinforcements, but they're a trickle compared to the flood that the Justice League heads would be." Robin said. "Don't forget all the other villains that are attacking this city; battling with Prime makes it too easy to get…"

A cataclysmic explosion sounded over the Titans' heads once more, and as they all recoiled again, a figure plummeted down into the ground, followed swiftly by another, but with all the smoke and dust they moved too fast to tell who between the Lord and Prime had gone first.

"…Tunnel vision." Robin said.

"If we're going by the tactic that getting between the Lord and Prime is suicidal, maybe we should back up some other heroes. Deal with something more our speed." Savior said.  
"Has anyone seen the Joker? I wouldn't mind…"

"Dude, didn't you hear? Joker's not here." Gauntlet said.

"What? How did you…why?"

"Hey, from what I heard, he was the only big name who was specifically REFUSED membership. No one else, just him." Gauntlet said.

"…I'm really not surprised." Savior said. "Joker's too crazy for Alexander to manipulate…that probably stuck in the Joker's craw though."

"We can worry about the Joker's wounded pride later. We need to think of a…" Robin said.

"Uh guys?" Terra said, as she looked up into the sky: something had caught her eye, some kind of movement. "What's that?"

Robin looked up…even as the figure plummeted down towards them, coming down from a jump. His eyes went so wide it was a wonder his mask didn't tear.

"SCATTER! MOVE!"

The gigantic form crashed down among the teenagers, as some dashed and dove out of the way and some were hurled by the shockwave. Savior didn't land well, the wind knocked out of him before he inhaled a lungful of dry dust, causing him to cough violently as he looked at the mammoth form…

He didn't think anything else could make his blood run cold again. He was wrong, as once more, ice filled his veins.

As Doomsday stood up from his semi-crouch, more dust falling from his massive shoulders, as Savior stared at him, the creature that had killed Superman. Doomsday had wrecked merry havoc across Metropolis, and then on a whim leapt into the air. And he'd come down back near where Alexander and Superboy-Prime had seen him…right in the midst of the Titans.

New blood to spill.

For a moment, Savior considered that maybe he should just retreat. There was honorable death on the battlefield and then there was pointless suicide, and if they tried to fight Doomsday…

Ironically, Doomsday didn't strike first, as beams of green energy exploded against the side of the monster's head, and he growled at the sudden sensation, even as he turned into four other blasts.

Savior stared.

And then Raven appeared next to him, stepping forth from the shadows.

"Keep with distance attacks! DON'T LET HIM GET CLOSE!" Raven yelled, as she scooped up every bit of wreckage and rubble she could and hurled it at Doomsday, who was being assaulted from all sides now and was completely confused at which way to go and who to kill first. Savior, in turn, stared at Raven.

"Snap out of it Noel! If we can keep him busy, then he can't go tear through other heroes, give them time to get some ground back, let reinforcements arrive, DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" Raven yelled, and actually punched Savior on the shoulder.

That snapped him out of it, as his eyes narrowed. Ok, so they _WERE _going to fight Doomsday? Then no one was dying on HIS watch!

And Doomsday found, to his ever-growing aggravation, that he suddenly had another annoying bug stinging at him.

* * *

The rubble moved away from the crater, and a few seconds later the Lord pushed himself back up, glowering at Prime's distant form before he glanced down at his chest and torso, thin wafts of smoke still drifting up from where he'd been struck. It figured. If it weren't a group of teenagers with nine lives, it was one with so much power that he could go toe to toe with the Lord and come out smiling…so much solar power his very touch burned the Lord's form.

Unfortunately for him, this wasn't a situation where sheer power would win. Prime thought he had this in the bag?

Hardly…

The armored teen slashed down from the sky…

The Lord was just letting him trail out enough rope to hang himself.

And the whole city shook as Superboy-Prime punched the empty crater where the Lord had been, his fist nearly going all the way up to the shoulder into the ground, his eyes widening in surprise.

The shadows flowed up from the ground nearby and reformed back into the Lord, and as a few stunned superheroes and considerably more supervillains recovered from the power of the shockwave, Superboy-Prime ripped his arm from the ground and glared daggers at the Lord.

"Playtime is over." The Lord said.

"RARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Superboy-Prime yelled, tearing towards the Lord and swinging his fist out.

The Lord dearly wished he could catch the blow, but that was beyond even him.

He settled for snapping his head to the side, the punch whistling past his cheek, his eyes narrowing as he felt the sheer energy pumping through the child's cells…solar energy. The accused sun.

But that didn't keep him from dodging the punch. And the next punch. And the next. There was no technique in the blows, nothing but blind rage, and even when Superboy-Prime sped up, not needing the gone Speed Force to accelerate his own body past human limits, the Lord was able to dodge it, the blows glancing off him at best. Superboy-Prime grew red in the face…yet he didn't run short of breath, the Lord noticed. Damn. Well, he'd take that into account, just like he'd done already. The direct blows he had taken in the sky (which had produced the impact noises heard earlier) were about 40 percent due to Prime's power and speed. The rest was the Lord taking his measure.

And he was just about getting sick of playing on the defense, as he reared away from a blow, his sword reforming in his hand.

"School is in session. Lesson 1: It's not the blows you see coming…" The Lord said, as he slashed his sword at Superboy-Prime.

The sword broke on the teenager's armor, and Prime grinned viciously…

As the Lord lunged forward, going with the broken blade, exactly as he had planned, as he used Prime's overconfidence against him and stabbed his dark claws straight into the mad teenager's eyes.

Had he done that to anyone else, it would have resulted in a very messy death. Such was Prime's strength that it didn't even draw blood, but the Lord had yet to find someone who could ignore super-sharp blades being shoved into their eyeballs, and Superboy-Prime wasn't one either as he recoiled and screamed, clutching his face. No injury, but brief but intense pain. For someone as strong as Prime, it was a start.

"It's the ones you don't." The Lord finished.

"I'LL KILL YOUUUUUUU!" Superboy-Prime bellowed, as he cut loose with blistering blasts of his heat vision. The Lord did a deep backwards lean to avoid it, the blast shooting over him…and striking the villains Leather and Calendar Man, who were vaporized to ash before they could even scream. The Lord snapped back up as black fire erupted on his hand, and he fired his own blast at Superboy-Prime.

Prime didn't dodge: he just thrust out his hand and punched the blast.

It exploded, blasting intense waves of force outward, shattering the street underneath and the building fronts around the two, as well as sending various heroes and villains flying once more.

Fortunately, the heroes, by now, had heard J'onn's warning and mostly backed off. Unfortunately for the villains, while J'onn would have warned _them _away as well, his mental war with Dr. Psycho kept him from doing it.

And the villains paid for it, as they hit the ground and barriers, debris flying through the air and slicing/smashing it's way through their ranks. Shellshock hit a car at the wrong angle and was nearly broken in half, while a piece of flying stone flew straight through Spellbinder's throat, leaving her to choke to death on her own blood. The Electrocutioner survived his body-pulping toss and roll, but suffered a broken kneecap…which left him helpless as a nearby brownstone building collapsed on him, crushing him to death under its tons of weight.

Even as Superboy-Prime flew back into battle, yelling his anger as he punched at the Lord. The Lord half dodged the blow and half deflected it off his sword.

"Lesson 2." The Lord said, as he sidestepped another punch. "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."

His anger flaring even higher at being called stupid again, Superboy-Prime screamed and punched at the Lord again…as the Lord sidestepped once more, and as Prime was thrown off-balance the Lord swung his foot around and down, kicking Superboy-Prime in the back of the head and knocking him to the ground.

Not even a scratch, the Lord knew, but he was tearing the hell out of the teenager's insane ego, as Superboy-Prime was back up and blasting, this time trying for a wide-range heat-vision shot. The Lord's form vanished into the ground even as Prime fired, and the Flash rogue Plunder found he should have stolen away as the heat vision blasted him into blackened bones.

"YOU THINK I'M STUPID!?" Superboy-Prime roared, as he whirled and slashed his fist behind him.

He only hit air, but even that was terrible, as the sheer strength and speed of his blow send out a cutting shockwave, catching the villain team Dark Nemesis and slicing them to ribbons.

"I think that's been well established."

And the Lord dropped out of the sky, Prime turning around just in time to catch both the Lord's feet in his chest as the Lord buried him in the pavement and leapt off, black power erupting on his hands as he fired twin-blasts into Prime, the shot blasting him further into the street before it exploded, as the whole street and its buildings completely shattered under the attack and collapsed, as the Lord flew back up.

"Lesson 3. When you assume, you…"

Stone exploded off the ground as Superboy-Prime erupted from the rubble at the Lord. His charge nearly hit light speed.

Yet somehow…the Lord dodged.

"Oh forget it, you can't be taught." The Lord said, and stabbed out an arm, as darkness erupted off the limb and into a gigantic blade that slammed into Superboy-Prime and speared him into another building, as the Lord sent an explosive charge after the godly teenage and blew up the structure, it also collapsing on Prime in a shower of countless tons of debris.

There was a moment's pause.

"YOU CAN'T HURT ME YOU…!" Superboy-Prime screamed as he ripped himself free once more…

The Lord met him at his emergence point, seizing him by his armor.

"Thought I'd cut to the chase."

And the Lord wrenched Prime into the air and over him, smashing him head-first into the ground before yanking him back up, throwing him into the air, and spinning to kick him in the back, Prime crashing through several more buildings before he stopped himself.

"…argh." The Lord said, shaking his hand. Damn it, just touching the stupid brat hurt.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

And from the sound of it, it was just making him madder.

As Superboy-Prime smashed back through the buildings, and through the unfortunate forms of the villains Black Mass and Stalnoivolk, leaving them shattered wrecks in his wake as he slashed out a fist.

The Lord slashed out with his own sword, and another gigantic eruption of force shook the foundations of Metropolis.

* * *

If there was one thing that came with the territory of being a superhero, Tara Markov had realized, it was the fact that you kept surprising yourself.

Tara had never suspected she'd find a place where her ability to shake the world would not only be accepted but admired.

Or that she would one day defeat four metahumans with her 'bare hands' (well, that and a talking car, but that was another story).

Or that she'd get shot and discover it wasn't as bad as some of the things that had already happened to her in combat (though the caliber might have played a role, she suspected).

And here she was, after another long series of firsts. Her first crisis. Her role in the final battle of Slade Wilson.

And now staring down the creature known as Doomsday, the monster who had killed Superman…and actually considering it a step down.

What a world she lived in.

And once again, it was calling for her to step up.

She did, as she thrust out her arms, and the shattered street beneath Doomsday's gigantic legs went crazy as she yanked and uprooted the ground beneath him in as chaotic a pattern as she could, trying everything she could to keep the monster off balance and unable to bring his insane strength to bear. That was one place where fighting Doomsday beat Prime: such a tactic would be useless against the insane teenager, who could fly…

Then Doomsday did what _he _did well as well, smashing his fist into the shifting ground and initiating an abrupt shift in the street from the impact, as multiple spires of rock erupted from the pavement and knocked Terra from her rock platform with a surprised cry…

And then the 10,000-ton metal orb made its return, as Gauss Lad, Peregrine II, Raven, Gauntlet, Argent, Savior, and an obscure super heroine called Lost swung out with it and smashed it down on Doomsday's head like the world's greatest morning star. Even the alien beast felt its impact, as he turned around…and the group bashed the orb across his face. And back again. And again.

"Should I be discouraged we don't seem to even be chipping his bones?" Argent said.

"Keep swinging or WE'RE boned!" Peregrine II yelled, as the seven swung the orb back in via their combined talents and smashed Doomsday across the face again…

Before he bellowed and swung out with his own fist.

The seven teenage heroes recoiled as he punched the orb and knocked it straight out of their talent 'fusion matrix', all of them feeling the backlash even as the orb flew through the air for nearly half a mile before crashing down into the ground, digging a deep channel in the process.

But the seven teenage heroes had bigger problems then the loss of their weapon, as Doomsday charged at them like a thundering bull from the deepest abyss, the Titans scattering away from his terrible power, lest one touch from him rip them apart.

"Damn it! Didn't he evolve to feel pain or something?!" Gauntlet cursed.

"Apparently he de-evolved. Or re-evolved. Or re-de-evolved or…maybe he just forgot!" Savior cursed.

"Well at least this guy can die…sort of!" Gauntlet replied…as Doomsday charged in again.

"So can we!" Savior yelled.

And then a pair of flash bang arrows flew out and exploded, momentarily blinding Doomsday…as Paragon and Legend leapt forward, each grabbing onto one of Doomsday's massive arms as they flipped over the monster in perfect sync and hurled his half-ton frame over them, Doomsday flying through the air…as Rocko and Platinum Blonde dropped themselves down on him as hard as they could, an extra boost provided Peregrine II and Lost's gravity powers as they smashed the alien monster into another crater in the street…

And Doomsday shattered Rocko's stone body to pebbles with one swiping blow: only some grabbing plant vines from Floral pulling Platinum Blonde away and saved her from a similar fate. Within seconds, Doomsday was back on his feet…

As Gauntlet and Kole stepped up, the female Titan holding up her arms and standing up straight, her body transforming into crystal as Gauntlet seized it with his power and held it out, his yellow energy transforming into a gun shape.

"FIRE!" Robin yelled.

Ten separate blasts of power flew from twice as many hands, as all of them struck Kole's prism form and refracted together into one supreme blast that lanced out and slammed into Doomsday, the sheer power of the combined attack actually pushing him backwards several steps…before stopping dead.

"POUR IT ON!" One of the Uberton heroes, a female in a vaguely patriotic outfit who Robin believed was called Halo, yelled.

Too late, as Doomsday roared and charged, the combined shot no longer stopping him, as he fought back against it…

And Kole's body abruptly turned back to normal, the girl utterly overwhelmed by the energies being forced through her, Gauntlet quickly jerking her out of the line of fire while a quick hand signal from him provided the instruction for the blasters to cut off their attack before they blew him and Kole up.

They did…and in the process, left them open to _Doomsday__'__s _attack.

Had not Starfire flown over their heads and planted her fist in Doomsday's face, buying her friends time to regroup at the cost of most of her fingers, which broke from the impact. Doomsday shrugged the blow off and returned it…as Raven yanked Starfire away, barely saving her from being cut in half as the alien hybrid Fringe attacked in turn…and found his superhuman strength was nothing compared to Doomsday's as Doomsday seized him and hurled him through the nearest building.

"We can't keep doing this…" Savior rasped, emerging from a dust cloud spawned from the battle. "We're not doing any damage…we need a new tact, a distraction, something…"

"How about a magic word?" Gauntlet said.

"What…?"

And then in a flash of blue, Captain Marvel Jr slashed down from the sky and slammed his hands down on Doomsday's head, burying the alien up to his waist in shattered concrete before Captain Marvel Jr lashed out with a foot and kicked Doomsday out of his implanted position and through another building.

"Shazam." Gauntlet said.

He was mildly disappointed when lightning failed to transform him into Captain Emergency Backup Marvel.

* * *

In retrospect, the villainous druid turned wood elemental Blackbriar Thorn should have waited a bit longer to generate himself a new body and return to the world.

Or maybe he shouldn't have joined up in the attack on Metropolis due to an old grudge against its protector.

Or maybe he shouldn't have grown to giant size to deal with a cluster of heroes who strangely were retreating instead of holding their ground like they'd been beforehand.

Or maybe he just was unlucky in where he was standing.

As the building next to him exploded, and the Lord's form smashed into him, shattering the wood giant to pieces as the Lord flipped, planted his feet on the building beyond Thorn, and ricocheted down to the street, even as another building shattered in the distance and Superboy-Prime emerged, a cloud of dust flowing around him as he stopped, grinning manically.

"Is that the best you can do? That's NOTHING!" Superboy-Prime yelled, and flew at the Lord. "I DON'T FEEL ANY OF IT!"

"Keep thinking that." The Lord said, as he slashed out with his sword.

Prime caught the giant dual-blade, the weapon shattering in his grip as he squeezed…as the Lord sprayed a virulent black smoke from his mouth into Prime's face, causing him to recoil with a scream as the Lord slashed out with his claws, slicing repeated cuts across Superboy-Prime's face and armor plating.

Prime's response was to abruptly stop screaming and giggle.

"Stupid magic. Doesn't work on me."

Superboy-Prime's punch barely missed the Lord as he zapped backwards, his hands arcing up and firing a crackling black ball of power that exploded on Superboy-Prime, with no effect. The Lord threw another, and then slammed his hands together and fired a third, all of them impacting and exploding on the teenager's form and not budging him an inch.

"See?" Superboy-Prime said, and cut loose with his heat vision.

This time, the Lord stood his ground and thrust out a hand.

And promptly lost it, as the heat vision impacted and blew his entire lower arm off, as he staggered back with a hiss, acrid smoke wafting from his stump.

"You're nothing! NOTHING! I'M GOING TO BE SUPERMAN!" Superboy-Prime screamed, and hurled himself at the Lord, who glared at his enemy, as another black energy ball manifested in his remaining hand.

"Not very original, are we."

And the Lord hurled the ball…at the ground, a massive eruption of dust and smoke blasting up and consuming him. A moment later Superboy-Prime punched the air where the Lord had been.

"What…hey! Stop hiding!" Superboy-Prime yelled, twisting his head to and fro as he tried to find his enemy…

The Lord slashed him across the back.

"YOU…!" Prime yelled, whirling around with a punch, but the Lord was already gone…as he slashed Superboy-Prime from the side. Prime once again counter-attacked empty air, as the Lord darted in and out of the dust, slicing and stabbing at Prime's exposed spots.

If he did any damage, it didn't show, but with every attack Prime got angrier and angrier, constantly missing with his attempted return blows. If the universe-lost Kryptonian had had anything resembling logical sense, he would have utilized his incredible vision to easily pinpoint the Lord, or perhaps better, used his super-breath to blow the Lord's cover away. But logic had long fled the teenager, and so he continued to flail around punching the air.

"Pathetic joke. No wonder your universe was eaten. It probably destroyed itself to get away from your unfathomable hebetude."

"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!" Superboy-Prime screamed, terrible heat lancing from his eyes and slashing through the dust and buildings beyond it, as Prime blazed his rage everywhere in a furious attempt to stop the Lord's taunts. All he did was cause more dust and smoke to blow across the battlefield, further obscuring the street.

"Deplorable."

Prime fired a heat vision blast in the direction of the voice: he hit nothing once again. A low, dark chuckle emerged from the drifting dust, as Prime jerked his head around, and then with a scream he finally remembered he had super-breath and cut loose, the dust and smoke vanishing within seconds as a storm of debris was blown down the street, slicing apart the villain called Crowbar, who hadn't gotten far away enough.

Even with the obscuring smoke gone, the Lord did not re-appear, as Prime jerked his head about furiously once more, trying to find his enemy…

…as the shadows began to surge up behind him.

"WHERE ARE YOU!" Prime screamed.

"Here." The Lord whispered in his ear.

Prime's whirling punch hit nothing once more, as the Lord again bent backward and away from the blow in a manner impossible for organic muscles to accomplish, as another shockwave of air shattered the street behind the Lord before he swung back up and glared into Prime's eyes.

"Wretched."

And placed his hand on Prime's chest armor, as black beams of power exploded between his fingers, moments before Prime and the whole street behind him was consumed with a massive black energy blast.

"You gravely overestimate yourself, child. You might command unimaginable power, but at the same time you _lack _the imagination to properly use any of it. You just try to bludgeon your way through whatever confronts you, certain they'll break long before you do. So tell me, why am I inaccurate when I call…you…" The Lord trailed off as the smoke cleared.

Prime hadn't budged from where the Lord had blasted him. Hell, the attack hadn't even seemed to muss up his hair.

"Heh." Superboy-Prime said. "You're stupid."

The impact of the blow across the Lord's chest shattered the street beneath both the villains, the Lord lifted off his feet as Prime punched him across the face, and then swung his arm back and backhanded the Lord, who went flying backwards in a spinning tumble…and crashed back down to the ground on his feet, falling to his knees as he was dragged along the ground, the impact pushing him another thirty or so feet before he stopped, smoke once more wafting from the places Prime had hit him.

"See! All your talk is nothing! NOTHING!" Prime yelled. "I'M GOING TO BE SUPERMAN AND YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!"

And Prime took to the air, lancing at a still-crouching Lord.

"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT?!"

"_**ZA WARUDO!"**_ The Lord yelled.

And the time dilution magic that the Lord had been utilizing to keep ahead of Prime threw itself into maximum overdrive, and Prime found his sonic boom producing dash abruptly slowed to a snail's crawl, his eyes going wide as saucers in surprise and fear.

"_Toki wo tomare._" The Lord said as he stood up, even as Prime furiously tried to break free of the 'static pace' he'd found himself trapped in and found he couldn't. "Like I said, child. You lack any imagination. You think because magic can't circumnavigate your invulnerability, that it can't affect you at all?"

And the Lord curled up his hand into a fist…as he called on the kinetic force he'd absorbed from letting Superboy-Prime hit him, despite the terrible pain it's solar-derived origins had caused him. He didn't think he could pull the complete time-stop off again, so he was damn sure going to make it count.

"_YARE YARE DAZE!"_

And the Lord gave Superboy-Prime back his three blows…in one shot. With all of his own strength behind it.

The impact actually smashed a crater into the ground beneath the pair, as Prime flew backwards, doing one flip before he hit the ground on his rear end, carving another line across the ruins of the street before he came to a stop. Amazingly, the Lord seemed to have actually stunned the boy into silence.

"You're _GOING _to be Superman?" The Lord said, as he reformed his sword and claws. "I _**am**_ The Lord of the Night! Master of this world! Emperor of war!"

And his cloak reformed into several new swords.

"AND A KING OF BLADES!" The Lord said, as he flew at Superboy-Prime; the insane teenager finally got his head screwed back on straight as the Lord attacked and pulled himself off the ground, as the two slammed into each other once more and shook the world with their blows.

* * *

Or maybe that was Doomsday, as his fist smashed into the ground, even as Captain Marvel Jr flew back from his dodge and smashed another blow across Doomsday's face.

"…are we getting anywhere?" Beast Boy groaned from where he lay, the Titans reduced to a few sniping attacks while Captain Marvel Jr did the work. "I thought the Marvels were supposed to be badasses!"

"They are. They also share their power." Robin said. "If one of the other Marvels is around, Junior's fighting at half strength…"

And with a roar Doomsday caught Captain Marvel Jr with a kick, sending him flying through the air past the two Titans.

"Which means we have to pick up the slack?" Beast Boy said.

A sonic boom slammed into the ears of the Titans as Captain Marvel Jr flew right back at Doomsday, smashing both fists into his face and actually knocking him back a step as Captain Marvel Jr spun upward and over from the blow , spinning over Doomsday and lancing backwards, slamming a leg into the back of Doomsday's head.

"If he has any slack left over, I don't know that we can handle it." Gauntlet said, as Captain Marvel Jr spun off that blow, flipped down in front of Doomsday, and hammered him with another punch…

And then Doomsday smashed Captain Marvel Jr into the ground with a shuddering downward blow, Marvel Jr laying prone as Doomsday raised a foot to stomp on him.

"Find a way! Come on Gauntlet!" Savior yelled as he dashed past the blonde haired teenager.

"Right, who wants to live forever?" Gauntlet said, and charged in as well, Savior lashing out with slicing blade Shimmer lines even as Gauntlet thrust out his namesake in a powerful bludgeon.

Doomsday…didn't feel any of it, as he charged at the pair. Gauntlet dove out of the way, as Savior leapt up into the air…and grabbed Doomsday's head, as he furiously tried to jam his Shimmer into his brain: when all you had was a hammer…!

Doomsday nailed Gauntlet instead, as he grabbed the Shimmer lines and yanked down on them so hard that Savior went into the ground like a meteor, Gauntlet throwing himself under his teammate and barely preventing him from pulping them both via a Gauntlet shield.

"Cut down…on…the steak…" Gauntlet wheezed.

"I'll take it…under advisement…" Savior replied, as Doomsday thundered over…

And a gigantic bolt of electricity slammed into him, actually managing to stop him before a purple form lanced at the monster alien and slammed into his chest, briefly staggering him as the lightning and purple shape flew up.

"He did not seem to be much affected brother!" Thunder said.

"Then let us present something more TANGIBLE for his consideration!" Lightning replied, and as Doomsday looked up the twin brothers thrust out their hands and bombarded Doomsday with potent electrical and kinetic force blasts, as the monster vanished in a series of explosions.

"Hah! That will teach him to…!" Lightning said.

Doomsday erupted from the smoke cloud with a roar, plowing into the brothers and sending them both smashing through a nearby skyscraper with one swipe of his arm.

And Captain Marvel Jr flew up after him, meeting Doomsday as he began to descend with a cracking uppercut that snapped Doomsday's head back, as Captain Marvel Jr reached down, seized Doomsday's leg, and spun him around several times before throwing him down into the ground. Doomsday smashed another crater in the streets of Metropolis, Captain Marvel Jr flying down after him and ramming his knees into Doomsday's face before following it up with a rain of punches.

Doomsday just threw one punch up, this time sending Captain Marvel Jr shooting up into the sky like a rocket.

"Raarrrgghhh…" Doomsday rumbled as he got up: he couldn't seem to stop the stinging insects…

And they hadn't stopped stinging, as a pillar of rock slammed out of the ground, smashing into Doomsday and pushing him up even as the sides of the crater he was in deformed and transformed into other pillars that lanced out, smashing into him from all sides. Doomsday bellowed and broke free with one mighty blow…as Terra flew up and cut loose with a rapid-fire barrage of rock, Doomsday finding himself under assault from dozens of hundred-pound shards of stone. He staggered briefly, before roaring and charging at Terra's floating form…

As a foot of a Spinosaurus crashed down on him.

"Eat dirt you…!" Beast Boy yelled.

He really should have transformed back and fled immediately, as Doomsday hurled Beast Boy's gigantic dinosaur form off of himself like he weighed nothing, Beast Boy barely turning back to normal before his weight crushed Terra, who broke off her attack to fly down and pull the changeling away.

Starfire flew in, firing a Starbolt right into Doomsday's face, and a moment later H-Duo and Killowatt combined their powers to hit the alien with a electrical charged water ram, as Bumblebee then flew down, linked her stingers together, and hurled them at Doomsday like a shuriken as they struck him and triggered their overload function, exploding in a blast of yellow energy as a rain of explosive arrows blasted against Doomsday from another angle. A moment after that, Captain Marvel Jr returned with Paragon, as the two bashed Doomsday with another ferocious combined punch that once again staggered the massive alien.

"So tell me, what's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Captain Marvel Jr said as he dodged Doomsday's counter punch and retaliated with one of his own.

"Uh, a friend of mine said he needed help." Paragon replied, as Doomsday, already off balance from the earlier blow, stumbled backwards as Paragon kicked him in the chest.

"A lot of people seem to need help these days." Captain Marvel Jr replied, and even as the two hammered away, a car flew through the air and smashed itself against Doomsday's back, sending him forward into more attacks from the pair of flying bricks…

Before Doomsday reached behind himself, seized the wreckage of the car, and swung it out, smashing the two heroes out of the air.

"OH NO!" Savior cried as his attack backfired horribly, as Doomsday smashed the car down on Paragon, nearly crushing the vehicle as flat as a pancake on top of the girl.  
"Amy? AMY!" Gauntlet yelled, running where the girl had been squashed, as Captain Marvel Jr returned and smashed more furious punches across Doomsday bone-covered face.

"AMY!" Gauntlet yelled as he ripped the flattened car out of the ground, as Paragon lay there, her outfit torn and blood leaking from her forehead, as she blinked at the returning light.

"Amy? You okay?"

And Amy Erikson realized that had things shifted another inch the wrong way, she might have been dead. She might yet be dead.

…maybe it was time to finally tell Rob a truth she'd held close to her chest for far too long.

"……………Uh huh." Paragon said.

Damn it all. Even facing doomsday, the monster and the concept, she just couldn't spit it out, as she coughed and groaned.

As Doomsday grabbed Captain Marvel Jr's left arm in one massive gray fist. But even as Doomsday's horrendous grip seized on Marvel Jr's arm, he continued on his attack, as he swung up and lashed out with his knee, smashing it into the side of Doomsday's face.

Mistake, as Doomsday grabbed Captain Marvel Jr's leg in turn, and with a vicious snarl he slammed Captain Marvel Jr down on his knee, nearly bending the champion of the deceased wizard Shazam in half as Captain Marvel Jr screamed in agony.

The sound caught Gauntlet's ears, as his head jerked up and looked at Doomsday trying to break Captain Marvel Jr in half, and back at Paragon groaning on the ground, and all his injured fellows around him…

"NO MORE OF THIS GARBAGE!" Gauntlet yelled, as he leapt to the attack…as golden sparks shot off his Gauntlet arm, as he reared back and lashed out with every bit of force he could muster.

Doomsday's head snapped back like it was on a spring, his grip on Captain Marvel Jr lost…

Before he recovered in a second, roaring and lashing out with a punch.

Gauntlet met it with his own energy blow.

And was sent flying backwards and crashing into the wreckage of the building behind him. It seemed even his rage couldn't match the Doomsday juggernaut.

"Oh god, it's Prime all over again…" Savior said, as Doomsday turned his attention to Captain Marvel Jr and began stomping repeatedly on the teenage avatar, who could barely defend himself. "Nothing WORKS…we hit him and hit him and he just won't STOP…"

"Quite understandable." Scalpel said, as he reached inside his coat. "Perhaps it's time to change, as you humans call it, the status quo."

"…of course. The neurotoxin. His system might…" Savior began.

And then Scalpel charged at Doomsday.

"AH SCALPEL WAIT! DON'T JUST…!"

And leapt into the air.

As Doomsday raised his foot once more, Scalpel landed, his clawed feet coming down on Doomsday's left shoulder as Doomsday jerked his head to look at him.

And Scalpel put all of his strength behind his sole shot and rammed his syringe in, the needle piercing right into the corner of Doomsday's eye and injecting the neurotoxin directly into his skull.

The only reason Scalpel wasn't left a smear on the ground from Doomsday's counter-punch was because he'd already started leaping away.

But as the alien crashed through some more wreckage, Doomsday lowered his arm sluggishly and began shaking his head. Never mind that for a normal creature, the poison would have killed him before he felt the prick: it actually seemed to be having SOME effect on Doomsday.

And Robin knew it, as he leapt down from his perch.

"ATTACK!"

And the Titans did, as every single one who could stand and attack did so, as a myriad of projectiles slammed against Doomsday's body before half a dozen attackers ran in and hammered on his massive form. Doomsday lurched around, lethargic and unable to respond…as Raven emerged from the shadows, bringing Gauntlet and Savior with her, as the three combined their talents and hit Doomsday as hard as they could, repeatedly, as the monster staggered back…

And bellowed; Scalpel had done well, but Doomsday had evolved far beyond where a simple poison would fell him, or even slow him down for long, as he smashed away the trio's combined powers and thrust up his arms.

"LOOK OUT!" Robin yelled.

Doomsday's double-handed ground blow cause the whole surrounding block to shatter and fall apart, the Titans falling amidst a rain of rubble and debris. A massive smoke cloud plumed up, as the fliers surged into the dust, trying to pull their friends to safety.

Scalpel groaned where he lay, as he tried to stand up, pushing some wreckage off of himself and wondering if he shouldn't have tried ramming it into the roof of Doomsday's mouth, god damn the consequences…

And it seemed like God did indeed wish to damn Scalpel, as he heard the thunderous footsteps moments before Doomsday's gigantic form appeared from the smoke, closing in on Scalpel like he could smell the alien who had wounded him.

Scalpel watched him approach.

"…how would…the humans possibly put it…" Scalpel said…and then raised a finger. "SIT ON IT AND SWIVEL."

Doomsday bellowed in return…

And the form leapt out of the smoke behind him, swinging her mace down onto Doomsday's head so hard the impact noise hurt Scalpel's ears. Doomsday staggered, and then whirled around to attack his ambusher…

The White Hole seized his attempted punch and hurled the massive alien over her, throwing him into another pile of wreckage that collapsed on the monster.

Scalpel stared, wondering if he was hallucinating or if he was already in hell.

"…perhaps you have more of the Blacktrinian fire in you than I was willing to understand." The White Hole said quietly as she looked at Scalpel. "But still far from enough Hastionfarlock. Far from enough."

And the White Hole turned and leapt towards the wreckage she'd hurled Doomsday towards, as the alien burst free and the White Hole met him with her mace.

"…did I miss something?" Beast Boy said, as he supported Terra over his shoulder. "When did we get to the parallel universe where the White Hole ISN'T trying to kill us?"

* * *

"ALEXANDER LUTHOR!"

Alexander jerked his head up, thinking for a moment that Talia had somehow found him, and that she was greatly aggrieved how 'Lex' had turned the Society into his own personal army.

But it wasn't Talia Al' Ghul. It was another female, in a black armored costume reminiscent of Batman and with long flowing red hair, a katana clutched in one hand as she approached the mastermind of the crisis. Alexander blinked, her name taking a moment to come to him.

"…Nightwalker, wasn't it? I don't suppose you want to help." Alexander said, as he looked back at his World View computer; he'd spent every second since Prime and the Lord had battled off trying to re-calculate his attack plan and keep his 'troops' in marching order, even as the city shook and shuddered all around him. Alexander didn't know how much Prime and the Lord had already wrecked, but at the rate they were going there'd be nothing left of Metropolis except a great big hole.

"You shouldn't have used us." Nightwalker said. "We really don't appreciate it."

"You don't? My work is the only reason your breed might claim a foothold on this world, rather than be thrown back into prison for the 8,000th time."

"My breed…" Nightwalker said. "You're right Luthor. I did agree with you. But you couldn't stop there. You just had to make sure we were all your pawns. Pawns in a game we didn't even know the rules to. What happened to mind wiping the superheroes? Was it all a lie?"

"My, aren't we intelligent." Alexander Luthor said, his fingers playing out over his holographic keypads as he watched the girl, still not sure which way she was going to jump.

"Maybe not as much as I'd like. But I'd like to think any plans I might have wouldn't end in a bloodbath like this. And I'd like to think if I really in control, I'd sound considerably less smarmy and flippant than you do." Nightwalker said. "But no one has any control any more. You've created nothing but chaos. And I don't want to see the world _it _creates."

"So, you think you can just pick up the other side's banner and think all will be forgiven…idiot." Alexander said. "If you'd only seen the things I've seen, the truths I've been forced to learn…all I gave up, for so little…what do you have that compares? What makes you think you have the right to choose what you are?"

"…maybe nothing except my pride." Nightwalker said, as she aimed her sword at the megalomaniac. "But you should know…that's enough."

"And so it shall go before you fall?" Alexander said, as he took one hand off his keypad and ignited his golden positive energy power.

"You or I." Nightwalker said. Alexander chuckled.

"You really think you can stop me?"

"It's funny what can sneak up on you." Nightwalker said.

And she snapped her sword down as she raised her right arm and fired an explosive orb at Alexander. He blew it out of the air, smoke and fire erupting between the pair…and obscuring Nightwalker from view.

If Alexander had had the time to curse, he would have.

"HERE COMES YOUR NOGHRI, 'THRAWN'!" Nightwalker yelled as she leapt through the smoke, slashing out with her sword. "IT'S A REAL WORK OF ART!"

"…_what?_" Alexander yelled, as he blew Nightwalker out of the air with another positive energy blast. She crashed to the ground, but Alexander knew it wouldn't last long: he wasn't skilled at rapid fire attacks and his deflecting blow lacked the power his first shot had…

Even more than he realized, as Nightwalker pulled herself up with a snarl and charged, Alexander barely dodging her second slash as she attempted to gut him.

She was such a pretty girl, Alexander oddly found himself pondering. And she'd been polite and respectful amongst the Society members, watching over the wild card White Hole with no complaint. Alexander couldn't tell if she'd been scared or just knew 'her place'.

Yet here she was now, a snarling animal wanting to rip his throat out.

Damn this world. Damn it all.

"This is Luthor! Hold the lines! And someone, DO SOMETHING ABOUT THOSE CLOUDS!" Alexander Luthor yelled into his World View before he turned back to Nightwalker. Another victim of this world. Much like him.

He'd kill her just to save her from it, as the golden radiance of his positive matter abilities darkened to the deep purple of his anti-matter ones, as he thrust out his hands and fired at Nightwalker, aiming for her heart.

Unlike this world, he would be merciful and just.

And when he was done, the world would be likewise.

No matter how many people had to die for it.


	13. Titans: Where Even Angels Lose Their Way

Titans: Where Even Angels Lose Their Way

_Lo! 'tis a gala night  
__Within the lonesome latter years!  
An angel throng, bewinged, bedight  
In veils, and drowned in tears,__  
Sit in a theatre, to see  
A play of hopes and fears,__  
While the orchestra breathes fitfully  
The music of the spheres__…

* * *

_The engine of destruction known as Ignition had first appeared in a bizarre alternate reality created when the Joker had briefly obtained god-like power: he had escaped being erased when normal reality had reasserted itself, and had clashed a few times with the Man of Steel. Words he had spoken had demonstrated Ignition knew things beyond what he should have known about Superman, and while nothing had come of it, there was always the suggestion that one day, the truth of Ignition's existence would come to light, and heaven help Superman then.

In the end, it was all for naught, as Ignition just managed to hear the noise behind him before he turned around and was shattered into pieces, as the grappling forms of Superboy-Prime and the Lord of the Night tore through him like he wasn't there. In the end, there had been bigger things around than him.

The Lord would have liked to have compared it to the irresistible force meeting the unmovable object, but the truth was he was far from unmovable as he struggled mightily against Superboy-Prime, the child screaming in his face as the two battled against each other, their bodies twisting and thrashing through the air as each fought to gain leverage.

"YOU'RE NOTHING! YOU'RE NOTHING!" Prime screamed, his eyes glowing crimson. The Lord snapped his head to the side, the heat vision burning away some of his hair and his ear, as he snarled and twisted his body away from Prime before he brought his foot up and planted it against Prime's armored chest.

"SO'S YOUR VOCABULARY!" The Lord yelled as he fired a massive blast out of the appendage, finally breaking Prime's grip on him as Prime went crashing into the ground, the duplicating villain Riot and the team known as the New Extremists goggling at the sight.

The Lord landed nearby, reforming his gigantic double-bladed katana as black power crackled all around him.

"RRAAUUUGGHHHH!" Prime screamed as he got up.

"Oh shut up."

A moment later the Lord was behind Prime, his sword held out…as Prime's body erupted into a series of spasms, a myriad of slashes slicing against him, the 'blade hurricane' ripping apart Riot and the New Extremists in a massive spray of blood that splattered and drifted over the area. While still caught in the grip of the attack, The Lord turned around, the same dark energy crackling on his palm as he hurled another blast into Superboy-Prime's back, sending the godlike teenager stumbling forward…

Before whirling back around as he inhaled and exhaled, as a wind more ill than anything in nature exploded forth and caught the Lord. He fought against it, but even he could not stand, as he was pulled off his feet and into another collapsed building, which, as usual, further collapsed on top of him.

"Didn't hurt." Prime grinned: indeed, the only sign of damage done by the storm of blades was various scuff marks on Prime's armor.

"YOU!"

Prime turned to the voice, thinking it was those stupid Titans again…and was quite surprised when he found himself facing an old man in a red costume aiming a massive gun-esque weapon at him, the firearm nearly twice as big as the man.

"I'VE FOUND YOU! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! NOW YOU WILL PAY! PAY FOR ALL…!" The Scavenger yelled.

He was promptly vaporized by Superboy-Prime's heat vision, as the long quest of the old lunatic came to an end with no answers and no one caring to hear them.

"You're stupid too." Superboy-Prime said, and turned his head back towards the rubble he'd blown the Lord into as it erupted, the Lord rising up from beneath it.

"Ha! Give it up! You can't beat me!" Prime taunted.

"So you say." The Lord replied, and charged in anew. Superboy-Prime held his ground, as the Lord slashed out with his claws.

Prime met him with a thunderous punch…

The Lord's form split apart, the punch hitting nothing but air once more, as the Lord's twin forms stopped and then dashed back towards each other, slashing out with sword and claw respectively and sending Prime into a spinning tumble to the ground.

"WHAT! ARGGHHH! STOP IT!" Prime screamed, surging up and barreling towards the twin Lords…as they each split in half AGAIN, Prime missing his attack once more as the four Lord sprouted weapons and carved an X in the air across Prime's body in turn.

"STOP IT!!!" Prime yelled, firing heat vision at the four Lord…who merged back into one, the shot going wide as the Lord then phased over and axe handled Prime right into the ground.

Prime pushed himself back up as the Lord floated down…and split apart, again and again, a score of Lords flying, floating, and zapping all around Prime in a variety of interlocking circles.

"STOP IT WITH THESE STUPID TRICKS!!!!!" Prime screamed, lancing out with more heat vision, slicing through the various Lords, their bodies shattering as the ray hit them. But for all the dancing shadows Prime took down, another took its place, as the Lords' returned fire, multiple blasts exploding on Prime's body…

Prime screamed, flew backwards, and finally showed an ounce of brains as he slashed his arms out, smashing his palms together and sending out a furious thunderclap of force that shattered all intact windows in the surrounding five blocks and blew apart all the remaining Lords…save one. The last Lord slammed his wrists together as well, and another gigantic blast of black power flew out.

The explosion blew a mushroom cloud of debris and smoke into the air, the sound echoing around Metropolis…

And then Prime flew out of the blast, not even slowed down, as the Lord's eyes went wide…

Prime's fist lanced out, impaling right through the Lord's chest and exploding out his back in a black of dark mist.

"GOT YOU." Prime snarled. The Lord stared in befuddlement at the teenager…

And then his body fell apart, collapsing into a black mess that faded at Prime's feet, as he grinned and spat on the ground where the remains had fallen.

"I told you. You're nothing. I'M GOING TO BE SUPERMAN."

"No you're not."

The punch slammed against Superboy-Prime's face, and he growled as he turned to face his new enemy…

And went white as a sheet.

"You don't deserve it." Superboy said.

* * *

_Mimes, in the form of God on high,  
Mutter and mumble low,  
And hither and thither fly-  
Mere puppets they, who come and go  
At bidding of vast formless things  
That shift the scenery to and fro,  
Flapping from out their Condor wings  
Invisible Woe!

* * *

_In the great murk that could be superhero existence, one task many on the side of good would one day find themselves faced with, sooner or later, was to chose between the lesser of two evils.

It was never easy. And Savior thought having to pick between the Lord and Prime had been bad.

"Jesus Christ." Savior said, as the White Hole ducked under Doomsday's punch and lashed her mace against his back. "Now we have the WHITE HOLE fighting for us? God, we've dropped the ball so hard it's probably ended up in China."

"We're really not in a position to complain." Robin said as he hopped down from a pile of debris, while Beast Boy, Terra, Raven, and Gauntlet supporting Paragon joined the group.

"What's our status Robin?" Savior said.

"Considering who we're facing we've had amazingly zero losses…but there's been multiple injuries, and I don't need to be Raven to tell you morale isn't sky-high."

"Damn it." Savior cursed. He didn't say what popped into his mind next, that they shouldn't have to do this, but the situation had passed ridiculous a long time ago. First they couldn't make a scratch on Prime, and now they couldn't make a scratch on Doomsday. A hero should never say they were out of their league, and should face every villain with an unwavering front that they would do the right thing no matter the cost…but ideals did not always match reality: hell, if they did, this whole crisis would have never happened in the first place.

Doomsday bellowed and punched at the White Hole again. She dodged aside and slashed down with her mace, smashing Doomsday's hand downward as the White Hole leapt up, stepped off Doomsday's arm, and kicked him across the face as hard as she could, staggering the alien as she landed, spun around, leapt back up, and followed her kick with another mace blow, burying her weapon into Doomsday's face once more before the monster swatted her aside. But the White Hole was swiftly back on her feet and charging back in, a wild grin on her face.

"This isn't any good." Robin said. "Even if she wins, for all we know, she might turn around and try and kill us. We need more muscle. Raven, how's magic going?"

"Still uncertain…I could try and rear up for a big spell, but…"

"Right. What about Captain Marvel Jr?"

"Not dead, not crippled, but not happy." Raven said.

"Right…who's left…"

"Weren't we doing this so other superheroes could regroup? WHERE'S THE REGROUPING?" Beast Boy asked.

"I think whatever the untold number of super villains isn't snarling, the Lord and Prime are." Robin said. "Plus communications are nearly nonexistent in this chaos. We…"

"Oblivion." Savior said. The Titans looked at him in confusion. "The hand fusion incident with Gauntlet. Remember that?"

"Hard to forget." Terra said: an accident with Larry the Titan had once left Savior and Gauntlet stuck holding hands. Then Slade had gotten involved and had set off events that had ended up with Gauntlet and Savior fused with overwhelming power forced into their newly hybrid form, who, calling itself Oblivion, had caused terrible trouble for the Titans.

"Raven, can you do it again?" Savior said.

"Seems an awful lot like releasing wolves in the house to get rid of the rats." Gauntlet said grimly.

"The whole mess happened because we weren't expecting it and Slade threw in Larry's powers and full unlocking of Old One tech. Maybe if we just use that, and that big magical boost Raven's been saving because she can't be sure if she could use it properly, she could turn us into Oblivion-Lite or something…" Savior said.

"No. It wouldn't work. Your minds would get submerged again: two minds isn't enough to…handle…that kind of…" Raven trailed off.

"She's trailing off! That means she'd had an idea! Or a stroke!" Gauntlet said.

"I…could that work I…"

"LOOK OUT!" Beast Boy screamed, and then Doomsday was flying at them, forcing the Titans to scatter as he crashed to the ground.

"I expected more from someone of your reputation! It's quite sad how often words never match up to the real experience!" The White Hole said as she charged after Doomsday, while Robin swung down from his escape grapple, his eyes darting around.

"…don't just stand there! Anyone who can, BACK HER UP!"

"I don't need your help!" The White Hole snarled as she smashed her mace into Doomsday's bony knee and danced away from his counter punch.

"You don't get a vote!" Robin retorted, hurling some freeze discs at Doomsday. The alien shattered the ice before it could even halfway form, but the attack was followed by Starbolts, silver plasma, and burning energy crashing into Doomsday's head, before hurled rocks from Terra and Rocko caught Doomsday in the back of his knees, knocking him down. The White Hole laughed gloriously as she leapt up and brought her feet down on Doomsday's face again…before Doomsday grabbed her and smashed her into the ground so hard Robin felt the impact a dozen feet away.

Doomsday rose to meet a parking meter being rammed into his forehead via white energy lines.

"HIT IT!" Savior yelled, as Killowatt and Lighting fired every bit of electrical energy they could muster into the makeshift lightning rod, violently snapping Doomsday's head back while he also staggered back…as Aqualad and H-Duo thrust out their arms and hit Doomsday with their own combined water jet, the electricity jumping to Doomsday's whole form as the four hammered away at the giant…

And that was just the warmup.

"Okay NOW!" Raven said, as Scorcher and Hotspot put their hands on the teenager's shoulders…the teenager with golden streaks in his hair…and a black outfit…and a lazy care expression that did not fit the disaster unfolding all around the Titans…and began pouring every single bit of the power they could into his body, the heat of their fire not burning him but causing his muscles to tense, golden lines suddenly lighting up under his skin, the strange energies pulsing down his face, neck and exposed arms, as he raised his hands and sparks of golden energy leapt between them….

Doomsday bellowed and knocked the parking meter from his head, cutting off his electrical shock as Savior fell to one knee, Doomsday's bladed bone knuckles cutting his talent and sending agony through his body.

"And _NOW!_" Raven yelled.

The black-clad teen thrust out his arms…and every bit of heat Scorcher and Hotspot had pumped into him was instantly transferred to the water mass H-Duo and Aqualad, causing a phenomenon known as a steam explosion: the water was instantly superheated into gas, to an effect that was like a bomb going off, blowing Doomsday backwards and spraying the surrounding area with burning hot water. Fortunately, no one was in said surrounding area except Doomsday.

"Nice work kid. Good thing you popped up." Scorcher said, as she patted the black-clad teen's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm good at that." Metatron replied.

And Doomsday bellowed as he returned, doing another rampaging bull charge towards his attackers…before the White Hole leapt over them and slashed out with her mace, smashing Doomsday across the face again.

"And lo, the behemoth is completely unfazed. All is right in the world, for the natural order prevails!" Metatron commented.

"…dude, where have you BEEN the past few days?" Beast Boy said.

"In Acapulco. Did you know Mega Man is there?"

Beast Boy didn't get a chance to reply as Doomsday and the White Hole's war caused a giant shard of concrete to be hurled in their direction, and the group scattered once more, as Metatron leapt away and vanished into a cloud of smoke and dust.

* * *

_That motley drama- oh, be sure  
It shall not be forgot!  
With its Phantom chased for evermore,  
By a crowd that seize it not,  
Through a circle that ever returneth in  
To the self-same spot,  
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,  
And Horror the soul of the plot!

* * *

_"N-NO! YOU'RE D-D-DEAD!" Superboy-Prime screamed, as he found himself facing Conner Kent, Kon-El, and who everyone who mattered would have told you was the true Superboy.

"Hardly." Superboy replied. Superboy-Prime screamed and cut loose with his heat vision…only to have it go right through Superboy's S-imprinted shirt like he wasn't there.

But as Superboy flew down and punched Prime once more, it became very clear that he WAS there, despite Prime's efforts and the fact that Alexander had told him he was dead. That was bad enough: what made it worse was that even after Prime had dominated him in every fight they'd had, Superboy's punch had actually hurt, as Prime screamed in terror-fueled rage again and lashed out with his own blow…

It went right through Conner once more. He was literally fighting a ghost.

A vengeful ghost, as Superboy smashed more punches across Prime's face, and then when Prime screamed again and fired more heat vision, leapt over it and kicked Superboy-Prime in the face. He landed next to the insane godling, who fired off another punch and found it had the same effect as the rest.

"N-NO!"

"Normally, I'd have some sympathy. But not any more." Superboy said, as he smashed his own, very solid counter blow against Prime. "You exhausted your supply of excuses. Your world died, you didn't get to be a hero, blah blah blah."

"S-SHUT UP! YOU'RE NOT…!" Prime screamed as he threw another punch: it went through Conner once more.

"YES. I AM." Superboy snarled, replying in twin with his own punches. "I had it worse than you! You just suffered tragedy! We ALL suffer tragedy! I was designed to be a weapon! My whole life was just a state of waiting for indoctrinated codes to be activated and to be pointed at my target! I did terrible things, without any choice in the matter! And I fought back from that! I didn't let it poison me! You condemned us all for being weak? YOU'RE WEAK!"

"I SAID S-S-SHUT UP!" Prime screamed, as he dashed back and flew forward at Superboy.

And once more, he went through him, crashing into another building and bringing it down on his head. Screaming, he tore himself free of the wreckage…and Superboy crashed down on him and drove him against a pile of rubble, hammering blow after blow into Prime's face.

"You're FINISHED." Superboy said. "It doesn't matter WHAT you do. You'll NEVER get what you want. You can kill us all, burn this world, burn this universe and every one like it. Your desires are forever lost. And when you're all alone, that's all you'll have left, tormenting you for every second of your cursed, damned life."

Prime's only reply was a wordless shriek as he tried heat vision again. It didn't even stop Superboy's constant punches, as he hammered Prime through the rubble and down into the shattered ground beneath it.

"Don't you know, Prime? The tyrant dies, his rule ends. The martyr dies, and his rule begins." Superboy said. "Do you hear the sound of inevitability, Prime? Do you hear the drums?"

And Superboy's fist came down…and again…and again…and…

Gone.

Within a second, Superboy had vanished. But not due to Prime finally finding a weak spot. He'd just…disappeared.

Superboy-Prime lay there stunned for several seconds, before he sat up…and saw the Lord nearby, as the shadow demi-god lowered his hand.

"Hnnnhhh. I guess Kryptonian brains aren't as similar to human ones as I'd like." The Lord said. "Pity. I was getting somewhere."

"…what…what…I…" Superboy-Prime said…and realized it.

There had been no Superboy. He remained as dead as before. Instead, the Lord had reached into his head…and just made him think he was there.

He'd hurt him…scared him…all without…

The Lord drew back his arm to form his sword…

And suddenly Prime was there, seizing him by the throat, as the Lord's eyes widened.

"Oh."

With a scream that echoed even above the carnage of the battle of Metropolis, Superboy-Prime seized the Lord by the hair and ripped his head right off his shoulders.

The Lord's body fell, dark ichor gouting from the stump where his head had been, as Prime reared back, smashed the head into the ground, and stomped on it repeatedly, screaming all the while, before he finally ran out of air and stopped, leaning over and taking deep breaths for a few seconds.

"…heh." Prime said, reaching down and picking up the smashed remains of what had once been the Lord's head. "No more tricks. Without them, you're nothing. You don't scare me."

The Lord's eyes shifted to meet Prime's.

"_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO."**_

And then the Lord's head leapt from Superboy-Prime's hand, as his teeth became fangs and clamped down on Prime's nose.

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Prime screamed, flailing back and hammering at the Lord's head as it viciously gnawed on his face, throwing wild punches that half the time hit Prime's own face instead of the Lord…as the Lord's headless body surged up and charged, ramming into and seizing Prime as the thrashing figures smashed through another building.

Prime finally remembered his heat vision and cut loose…a second after the Lord's head had let go, dropping off from Prime's face.

As the Lord's body surged around Prime, grabbing him around the waist, flipping him over, and smashing him down into the ground admist more battling heroes and villains, burying him up to his knees in rock once more. The shadow body broke apart, surging away and reforming into the Lord's body proper, the shadow form holding out a hand as his removed head dropped into it, the Lord placing it back in its proper spot.

"You can't kill me." The Lord said.

Screaming, Prime broke free and lanced out with another punch. The Lord dodged aside, as Prime smashed through the hero Centrix and the villains Shrike and Shatterfist, none of whom took critical damage to their forms as well as the Lord did.

"You can't hurt me. There is no pain you can inflict on me that I can't bear. No matter your powers, no matter the heights they reach."

"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!" Prime screamed, as he exhaled terrible cold. The Lord was frozen solid, as was everything behind him, including the villains Lady Clay, KGBeast, and Sonar. With one pass, they all shattered into shards of ice and dust, Prime plowing through their icebound forms like an out of control bull before whirling around, as he blasted heat vision at the broken pile of ice that had been the Lord…

Except his body was not a pile of ice on the ground. It was a mass of cutting ice shards flying through the air, as the Lord slashed and sliced repeatedly across Superboy-Prime's body, the ice breaking on impact as the shadow essence emerged from them, returning to a central mass that reformed once more into the Lord.

"You heroes, no matter how you go about it, are all alike. You can't kill the dark." The Lord said. "But believe me, the dark can kill you."

"DIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Prime screamed as he charged at the Lord again, as the Lord zapped backwards, almost as if retreating…before he stopped on a dime and flipped backwards, kicking out with his foot in a matter that caused Prime to fly right into it, sending Prime flying backwards and into the side of another building.

"Your destiny is lost, dead in nothingness! And neither you, nor the villains of this world, nor the heroes, will stop me from claiming my own!" The Lord yelled, as he stuck his arm out and shadows began to surge up, forming into a massive spiral weapon. "I am the Lord! All shall fall before me! Ashes to ashes! Dust to dust! MINE IS THE DRILL THAT WILL PIERCE THE HEAVENS!"

And the Lord swung his massive bladed shadow auger towards Superboy-Prime. Prime did not hear the last line the Lord said, as he spoke it more to himself.

"Oh hell, look what all your repetitive nonsense had done, I'm babbling crap myself."

And the Lord surged forward, the rending shadows spinning rapidly, as the point slammed into Prime and he was sent tumbling and smashing through the buildings beyond.

* * *

Doomsday didn't really have what one could call a memory, in a classic sense: he recognized threats, and his body evolved to counter anything that had hurt him before, but that was about it. Maybe things had changed when the creature had evolved intelligence, but whatever had happened between then and now, possibly due to Dr. Psycho's machinations, had rendered that change irrelevant: at the moment Doomsday was as mindless as ever.

Even THEN, a tiny synapse in the back of his primitive brain was still noting that the insects were STILL stinging him, and he just couldn't seem to squash any of them for all his efforts. Not that this had any effect on Doomsday's choices: he kept doing what he did best, kill people.

Or try, as his hands shot out and seized onto the skull of the White Hole, hoisting her off the ground as he attempted to crush her head between his hands. Had he had another few seconds, he might have succeeded.

Except the While Hole, instead of futilely trying to break his grip, took advantage of her 'perch' and swung both her legs up, burying her bladed claw-toes under the likewise bladed sheath of bone Doomsday had on his lower jaw: his hide on his neck didn't prove much softer, but the impact of her attack was enough for the White Hole to shift further backwards and break his grip, as she did a full backwards flip and scrambled away as Doomsday buried his fist in the ground where she'd just been. She immediately regained her balance, as Doomsday pulled himself free and lunged forward, trying to grab her again.

This time, the White Hole ducked, as she lanced out her own blow and buried her fist with every ounce of strength she could bring to bear into Doomsday's torso. It drove him back a step, while the White Hole leapt and slashed out with her left foot, smashing it across Doomsday's face and sending him staggering back more…before Gauntlet leapt in, swung up his own energy fist, and brought it down on Doomsday's head, smashing him into the street with another spray of shattered rock.

"Stay out of this, meatsack!" White Hole snarled.

"You're welcome. Believe me, as much as I'd like to watch him pound you to jelly, BAD TIME!" Gauntlet yelled, as Doomsday began getting up with his usual roaring…and a pillar of rock smashed into him from below, sending him flying into the air…

And Captain Marvel Jr made his return as he promptly punched Doomsday into the ground again.

"I owe you some…!" Marvel Jr began as he zapped down at Doomsday…and flew into a slashing backhand that smashed him into another pile of rubble.

"Grrrrooooarrrrrr…" Doomsday growled, getting up again…and was met by the White Hole's leaping kick to the face. The nigh-unkillable alien retaliated, his bladed bone knuckles glancing the White Hole's right arm and ripping through her armored clothing and highly dense skin like it was a spider web. It didn't remove the savage grin from the White Hole's face though, as her blood sprayed on the ground, hissing…

And she slashed out her arm, throwing more of the vitriolic liquid into Doomsday's eyes. The alien reared back, clawing at his face, while the While Hole took a step back and swung her mace with all her might into Doomsday's torso. It did nothing…until the White Hole did it again, and again, a rapid three-time blow that finally accomplished her intent: doubling Doomsday over.

She promptly brought her mace down on his bony head, and once more, and…

Doomsday recovered fair quicker than she'd expected.

As she found out when he lashed out with a punch, his bone-knuckle blades impaling into her chest. A moment later the impact from the punch slammed into her, and blood sprayed from all her injuries as she was lifted nearly a foot off the ground from the impact…

And touched back down, Doomsday realizing she was still on his fist, her chest a mass of gore leaking astringent blood onto the ground and Doomsday's arm, more blood leaking from other wounds and her mouth…but the angry defiant madness, the battle fugue, still shone in her eyes and her expression.

"Is that the _best _you can muster, you _kahlin gutorro?_" The White Hole rasped.

Doomsday's next blow might have decapitated the war-crazed alien, had Scalpel's glaive not flown through the air and rammed into Doomsday's face: it didn't do anything save distract the alien, but that was enough, as Thunder tore down the street and shoulder-rammed the monster, knocking him back a step…

"Variant 17! 21! 34! Something! Patent pen-OH YOU GET THE IDEA!" Gauntlet yelled before he hurled Platinum Blonde at Doomsday, as she smashed her fists into his face. Before the destroying alien could retaliate, the Shimmer shot out, pulling the Elemental away before Doomsday could repay the favor.

"Nigel, did you just save the WHITE HOLE?" Savior asked, putting Platinum Blonde down nearby while set himself down next to the alien.

"I don't know WHAT I'm doing any more." Scalpel commented, as Legend returned and fired off several blows into Doomsday's side before Doomsday flattered her with another punch, the dimension-lost girl crashing into a nearby streetlight and nearly bending it in half from the impact, while Robin reappeared near Savior.

"Anything from Raven, Savior?" Robin asked, his utility belt finally exhausted of weaponry of any kind.

"I think if there was, Robin, she'd have told you directly." Savior said, as Gauss Lad flew in with two more street lights, wrapping them around Doomsday before Scorcher blasted them with intense fire to meld them together, briefly immobilizing Doomsday as Terra, Gauss Lad, Lost, Rocko, and Peregrine II teamed up to hurl as much debris as they could at their enemy…

For four seconds, which was as long as Doomsday's makeshift bonds lasted before he ripped himself free and punched the sports truck Gauss Lad had thrown at him, the impact so great it virtually ripped the truck apart and sent a storm of metal shrapnel the heroes were forced to break off the attack to avoid. The group was saved from a follow up attack by both Speedy's, as they emerged and hit Doomsday with some more explosive arrows.

"God DAMN it." Speedy II, Nathaniel Parsons, cursed as once again the effect proved he may as well have just left the arrows in the quiver. "Maybe you shouldn't have wasted your Phantom Zone arrow on that goddamn Prime."

"Maybe you should realize…" Speedy III, Mia Dearden began: she would have finished with 'that constantly taking the Lord's name in vain doesn't make you look cool, you jackass', if but for Doomsday charging to attack them. A smoke arrow and some frantic scrambling let them get out of the way, though as soon as the Elementals renewed their attack on Doomsday they returned, firing more futile arrow shots into the monster alien's hide.

"Robin…" Savior said.

"I know." Robin said; he was loathe to retreat but this was getting nowhere. He didn't want anyone to die, but if he didn't…

"What tricks do we employ now, fearless leader?" Gauntlet said, while Doomsday punched Rocko apart (again), ripping through Floral's plant vines as she futilely tried to protect her teammate (again). "We've tried mass projectiles, overloading equipment, allies who would all too happy to murder us, blunt trauma, a tactical nuke I didn't even know Peregrine HAD, MORE blunt trauma, begging for mercy…black Superman?"

"…what?" Robin said.

The beams of red energy flew out and detonated on Doomsday, and for a moment Robin felt a surge of hope.

Which swiftly turned into confusion as the firer dropped down…and was wearing a green and black costume. And was African-American. Which wasn't quite what Robin had expected.

"…huh." Gauntlet said. "Bout time."

"Fear not Titans!" The new hero said, as more adults dropped down or appeared around him. "Even in the darkest hour, there is light, and that light is…THE MANNERLY SOCIETY OF GENTLEMEN!"

"….HUH?" Beast Boy said.

"Ah yes, we haven't met. We hail from Gauntlet's home town of Uberton! I am Hyperion, an attempt to create an artificial Kryptonian!" Hyperion said. "To my left is Tachion, Mistress of Speed! And…"

"RAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHHHHH!" Doomsday bellowed as he charged into the Mannerly Society, and Hyperion began to see how well his existence had succeeded as Doomsday promptly introduced his fist to Hyperion's face.

"…and the one now being used as a baseball bat is Die Spinne, mistress of webs and webmistress of the Uberton Superhero Archive Online. The short one who just broke his bowie knife on Doomsday's eyeball is Wulf, the Welsh Wonder. And finally there's Victory Lad, ex-government agent but not ex-patriot! Yup, those are his bullets glancing off harmlessly." Gauntlet said.

"…why did you just finish his bit?" Bumblebee said with some confusion as she popped up.

"I figured everyone out there needed to know who they were." Gauntlet said.

"The Ubertron reinforcements are arriving then?" Robin asked.

"Well considering things, the plan was probably all to arrive at once…" Gauntlet said. "But sometimes we have a tendency to…rush ahead. Not that we don't need the help."

"No. No, definitely." Robin said.

"Figures your whole town would be overexcited." Savior said, though his comment was phrased as a non-malicious observation.

"Not the whole town." Gauntlet said. "Just…a lot of it."

* * *

Brutale was anything but excited. First he'd gotten his ass kicked by Nightwing up in the Arctic…and now he was getting his ass kicked again. The worst part was that this time, his attacker was…

"The Amazing MARMOT MAN? WHAT THE HELL?" Brutale yelled, hurling daggers at the rodent-themed costumer adventurer, who dodged out of the way.

"You'd be surprised how few names are left." Marmot Man said as he leapt in with a punch.

"YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE ANY MARMOTS!"

"And you aren't particularly good at being Brutal with a silent e. Nighty-night!" Marmot Man said, and punched Brutale's lights out.

* * *

Hardhat was really beginning to regret his decisions. First he'd run away and left the rest of the Demolition Team to die at the hands of OMACS. Then he'd decided to take part of this so-called Battle of Metropolis.

And then he'd attracted the attentions of Shade (not THE Shade, who felt protecting Opal was far more important than Metropolis), whose black liquid-based form proved ineffective for Hardhat's ground and pound style combat: he simply reformed after every punch.

"…parlay?" Hardhat asked after all his blows did nothing.

"Sorry, unconditional surrender or nothing." Shade said, as he wrapped a tendril around Hardhat's arm.

"Crap…"

* * *

"…no…" Alexander Luthor cursed: as if the situation hadn't gone to hell badly enough, reinforcements were arriving…

And Nightwalker was still alive, as she slashed her sword at his head, Alexander barely getting out of the way as the razor sharp blade sliced a small wound just below his left ear. He countered with another anti-matter blast, but his balance was severely disrupted by the attack and he completely missed her. It was only by chance that her follow-up orb attack did so as well, flying over his shoulder and exploding on a wrecked car behind him.

"Damn you! DAMN YOU ALL!" Alexander yelled, firing more blasts: Nightwalker did a series of backflips to avoid them, and Alexander couldn't keep up the pressure long as he stopped firing, glaring at Nightwalker even as his computer informed him of more newcomers showing up. "Damn you all to hell."

"Hell, Luthor?" Nightwalker said. "Hell is empty. All the devils are here."

And she charged forth again.

"SO YOU'LL HAVE A PICK OF PRIME REAL ESTATE!"

"Not by your hand." Luthor said, his hands glowing gold as he fired once more.

* * *

Athena Jones really wondered why she was here.

Well, she knew WHY she was here: she was technically a MSG reserve member, despite being a powerless street detective type who generally fought with thugs with guns: she was really out of place in the unbelievable power levels that were clashing here (nine thousand didn't even begin to cover it) . But she _did _have her own gun, and she knew how to use it, so she could probably do _something _if she picked the right target…

She quickly found out where she WASN'T going, as she saw a line of destruction being carved across Metropolis about a mile away, various damaged buildings collapsing outright as something smashed their way through them…

A moment later two figures flew out of the demolition of the last one: the blue and red one attacked immediately, as the black one dodged and flew back towards two more buildings.

The red and blue one gave chase, as the black one slammed on the brakes and charged in turn.

The impact between them shattered the buildings around them into a billion pieces, and blew Athena off her feet and nearly made her deaf at the same time. For a moment she lay on her back, wondering if she was having another corn flakes and mayonnaise pizza-based nightmare…then she felt the earth shake again, and realized she wouldn't be that lucky.

"…Roger, this is Jones." Athena said, as she pulled out her communicator (or rather the one that had been tossed to her about 35 minutes ago). "We have a situation on Main Street. There's some sort of meta fight going on here…"

"This whole mess is one BIG meta fight Jones, what makes this so exceptional?" The man on the other end replied.

"A short superman in some sort of armor is fighting something made of shadow."

"What do you mean made of shadow?"

"You almost sound like you know what I'm going to say." Jones said.

"I'm praying I'm wrong, we have enough on our plate right now!"

"All the same sir, there is NO overreaction. Send everyone out! EVERYONE! Even The Kitchen Sink! And…and…" Jones said, before trailing off.

"Jones?"

"A gigantic building sized clawed hand made of dark energy just ripped itself out of the ground, pointed its fingers inward at the superman, and fired blasts from each one that combined on the superman in a detonation that rattled my fillings. From four miles away."

"…I'll see what I can scrape together."

"And the superman-type just flew out and punched the shadow thing into the ground."

"Fine, you have my attention. Keep observing and stay low."

"On one condition sir."

"What?"

"Remind me to kick Marmot Man's ass for convincing me to come along!"

* * *

_But see, amid the mimic rout  
A crawling shape intrude!  
A blood-red thing that writhes from out  
The scenic solitude!  
It writhes!- it writhes!- with mortal pangs  
The mimes become its food,  
And seraphs sob at vermin fangs  
In human gore imbued!

* * *

_"ARE YOU SURE THIS IS A GOOD IDEA!" Punk Rocket yelled: it was the only way to be heard over the chaos.

"Of course! This battle is pointless! The only benefit to it all is PROFIT!" Professor Chang yelled back, as he and his erstwhile allies finished tearing down the bank wall. If Chang knew the anger the quite insane Doctor Psycho would have had had he seen this, and what had already happened to some of the people involved in this massive battle 'disappointing' his lunacy, Chang might have thought twice about robbing the bank. But what had seemed like a sure thing had rapidly turned into a chaotic mess between a quagmire, a blitzkrieg, and Ragnarok, and Chang had quickly decided he was getting some compensation and getting out. And with some 'local help' as he defined it, that being Cinderblock, Overload, Atlas, Adonis, Punk Rocket, Kantarou, Malchior, Johnny Rancid, and even Puppet King (who was basically an annoying tagalong), he'd turned to just that, ripping open a bank to steal the vault's contents. Providing the villains didn't win, it could takes weeks before anyone noticed it was gone.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?!" Superboy-Prime screamed as he zapped towards the Lord again: the Lord dodged aside and kicked Prime in the back, sending him tumbling across the sky for a moment before he turned around and charged back, slamming into the Lord for a moment before the Lord twisted backwards and kicked Prime into the sky.

"Not the first to have asked." The Lord growled, as Prime screamed and fired heat vision down towards him: the Lord dodged it by counter-attacking, lancing up and slamming both fists into Superboy-Prime's gut even as a shadow tendril seized Prime's cape and yanked, hurling Prime away from the Lord as he thrust out his hands and fired a gigantic spray of black blasts into Prime, the insane teenager momentarily transfixed by the explosion before he flew out of it and punched the Lord across the face, the blow echoing across the sky.

"…that the best you can do?" The Lord snarled. The smoke rising from his face betrayed his supposed indifference, but Prime was too out of control to notice, as he lanced towards the Lord once more…

Into the Lord's awaiting arms, as more shadow tendrils surged out and seized Prime, and before even the teenager's beyond-fast reflexes could react the Lord went into a death roll and fell towards Metropolis, the two crashing into the roof of the Emperor building and promptly tearing the proud structure into pieces as the Lord 'spun-struck' Prime down through floor after floor after floor, dust, smoke, and debris exploding out from all sides in a rapid-fire downward sucession, as the Lord hammered Prime through the landmark…

No one heard Prime's scream save the Lord, as the last explosion of force abruptly increased by ten times as Prime punched the Lord out of the building, the impact literally snapping the building in half.

Prime ripped his way out, scanning for his enemy as the shattered top half of the edifice fell into the streets below, sending various superhumans scrambling for cover. Though the building was empty, there was still a strange sense of sadness in its destruction.

The tragedy was lost on the Lord, as he pulled himself up from where he'd landed…while Chang and his associates stared at him in shock from where they lay, the impact having knocked them and their bags of money to the ground.

The Lord floated up to his feet, affording his 'peers' a glance.

"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Prime screamed as he charged in.

"Yeah." The Lord said.

And he thrust up his arm.

"YOU SAID IT!"

The last thing Chang and his associates felt was an odd cross between having their hair stand on end and chewing on tin foil.

And then they all disintegrated, the screams torn from their flesh or otherwise stripped forms as the Lord blasted gigantic columns of destructive dark energy from below him, a whole city block and everything in it consumed in the attack as Prime was blasted upward by its terrible power. Unlike its other victims, his only scream was rage.

The Lord lowered his arm, before he afforded the blackened remains that now surrounded him another glance. He wondered what they'd seen in their last moments. Him, or their own lives.

"Was it worth watching?" The Lord mused, and flew up after Prime.

A moment later the Puppet King's smoking form crashed to the ground. The Lord's attack had been designed to disintegrate flesh and metal, as he'd been directing it at Prime. In an odd quirk, that apparently hadn't covered wood.

And even as the groaning midget began crawling away, down among the dead men, the Lord and Prime met in the heavens, as they clashed in their never-ending struggle to decide the fate of the earth below them.

* * *

Hyperion might have been an attempt to clone Superman (again), but much like the first time this had succeeded, he had not turned out an exact copy of the original: case in point being as Doomsday charged to attack him once more, Hyperion ducked under the blow and kicked Doomsday in the genital area as hard as he could.

If it had anything to affect, or if those parts of Doomsday were as well protected as the rest of his body, Hyperion didn't know, as the low blow seemed to have as much of an effect on Doomsday as the rest of his punches. And speaking of punches, that was what Hyperion felt again, as he was hammered into the ground.

A moment later Doomsday's bladed hands were coated with thick, sticky goop, as Die Spinne got out of the way and Tachion blazed in, hitting Doomsday in the softest spot she could as many times as she could with her armored hands, which wasn't much before she was forced to retreat: her time-based speed powers let her keep going after the Speed Force had been destroyed, but there were times when said Force's abilities to negate impact were (quite literally) sorely missed. Doomsday's fists smashed into the ground where she had been, as Victory Lad ran up on Doomsday's back and emptied his armor-piercing rounds into the back of his head. Why Victory Lad though Doomsday's skull would be any softer than his hide (perhaps an addiction to first-person shooters…), no one knew, and it was only luck that Victory Lad was just tossed off Doomsday's back in a barely glancing blow instead of being cut in half by a proper impact, Wulf leaping up and grabbed Victory Lad as they both crashed to the ground.

Robin wasn't precisely sure what Wulf said: it sounded like a sentence that lacked any sort of vowels, as the 'Welsh Wonder' popped reinforced-metal claws from his fingertips.

"You said it Wulf, this is a pretty hairy situation." Victory Lad said as he slammed a new clip into his weapon, before looking at Robin. "So, you actually going to do anything, or just dump it all in our laps now?"

"Watch and learn, proxyman." Savior said as he dropped down, as Raven emerged from the shadows nearby, with Starfire, Argent, Lightning, Thunder, Lost, Kurai, Halo, and both Speedys with her.

"Are you sure about this, Friend Raven…"

"I haven't done enough." Raven said, as she turned around and threw open her cloak, as her body disappeared into inky blackness. "DO IT!"

And so all the Titans thrust out their hands or weapons and fired directly into the portal Raven had become, as the other end of the portal flared into existence right in front of Doomsday's face.

He took the combined blast on the chin, and Robin blinked. Had he finally seen some chips of bone fly off of Doomsday's face?

Hyperion took advantage of the attack to add his own blast, as he hammered Doomsday with a follow-up shot of his Megavision, as Die Spinne floated down and wrapped Doomsday in more webbing as he was distracted. Hyperion moved to attack again…

Except the White Hole violently shoved him out of the way first and charged in with a furious scream, before she leapt and smashed Doomsday with her mace again.

"…well, she's rude, but I guess we can't be choosy about allies at the moment…" Hyperion said, flying in and punching Doomsday across the face even as the White Hole smashed another blow into Doomsday's knee. Doomsday ripped free of the webbing, but his attack was interrupted as Paragon returned and lanced a flying knee into the back of Doomsday's head, even as Wulf clambered onto Doomsday and tried to claw his eyes out.

Wulf ended up hurled off again, as Doomsday grabbed Paragon and Hyperion and smashed them together before turning his attention back to the White Hole…as she bashed him across the face with her mace again. Doomsday roared and fired off another blow.

The White Hole met it with her mace.

It broke off a bone knuckle.

Even as the weapon shattered completely, leaving the White Hole empty handed. She grinned through a mouthful of blood.

"Only way to feel…!" The White Hole said, leaping up with her fist cocked.

Doomsday beat her to the punch, literally, a thunderclap of force sounding in the Titans' ears. Only Tachion, in her 'delayed state' saw just how viciously the White Hole's neck wrenched from the blow, as the alien flew across the street and crashed through a crumbled building, more rubble tumbling down after her impact. Tachion didn't think she'd be back.

Which could be bad in the end, as Victory Lad and Fuzzball's gunfire didn't even get Doomsday's attention as he stomped over to Paragon, who had been knocked dazed again…

As Captain Marvel Jr dropped down and seized onto Doomsday's arm.

"CAPTAIN MARVEL!"

And Hyperion pulled Captain Marvel Jr away at the last second before the magical lightning bolt could turn him back into his normal self, leaving Doomsday to take the full brunt of the magical lightning, which staggered him once more. Platinum Blonde waded in and smashed her fist into Doomsday's side, even as Legend leapt up and began pounding on Doomsday's head, while Hyperion and Captain Marvel Jr returned and began hammering Doomsday as well. Doomsday bellowed and swung at his attackers, only for Tachion to move them out of the way of his attacks as the four instantly restarted their attack, even as Paragon, Gauntlet, and Scalpel joined in as well, and Starfire, Raven, Argent, Scorcher, Kurai, and a badly hurt Red Star fired off concentrated blasts, focusing their attacks on Doomsday's head and face as the strength attackers brawled with him. Terra and Rocko added the last piece, as they lashed out with their power and upturned the ground under Doomsday's feet to keep him off balance and unable to retaliate.

"…holy crap, I think we might actually pull this off." Savior said, while the mass of attackers hammered on Doomsday: Savior could swear he saw Doomsday's counter-attacks begin to slow down…

"Don't forget who he is." Robin said. "Maybe we can just…wear him down enough to make it easier…but…"

Savior didn't reply, but the dim hope remained. After all this terrible tragedy, maybe the good guys could still win yet…

* * *

The sky crackled with power, lightning flashing in the dark clouds as the Lord and Prime charged at each other, as the Lord's cloaks lanced forward and turned into stabbing 'stitchwork' blades to precede his attack. Prime punched his way through them, while the Lord slashed out with his claws, slicing across Prime's torso…and got smashed with a counter-backhand he wasn't able to dodge, sending him tumbling away briefly before he righted himself.

Prime fired off another blast of heat vision: the Lord thrust out an arm and fired off his own blast to counter it…and found Prime's solar blast cutting through his own attack like a hot knife through butter, the twin beams tearing through the Lord's own and ripping through his body…

Which shattered. Prime realized about a nanosecond before the Lord lanced in from his left and kicked him in the face as hard as he could that he'd been faked out again.

"The fox and the cat." The Lord said, musing on the Aesop as he reformed his twin-bladed katana and swung in to attack again. Wondering if despite it all…

No. Doubts were for the mortals. And he…

Might as well have been that, it seemed, as he slashed out with his weapon and Prime grabbed it again.

"How many times are you going to use this stupid sword?" Prime taunted, breaking it once more before smashing his fist into the Lord's face, sending the Lord flying across the sky again.

The Weather Wizard barely missed colliding with the shadow god, and nearly dropped his power-granting wand in the process, as cold sweat broke out again on his brow. Why had he listened to the command to try and do something about the clouds? All the Weather Wizard had been able to determine was that they weren't in any way natural, and with the sheer destruction going on around them, he, like more than a few others, was thinking of getting back to Keystone…

He was looking at him.

The dark man who he'd almost gotten flattened by was looking at him, and he didn't look happy.

"…unwise." The Lord said, and raised a hand.

Superboy-Prime crashed into the Lord, and the two went tumbling away from the Weather Wizard: the shock he was frozen in finally broke as he turned to flee, beckoning the winds to carry him away from this as fast as they could.

As the Lord surprised Prime with a head butt, moments before seizing his armor, even as his fingers burned at its touch.

"No one gets out." The Lord said.

And he hurled Prime after the Weather Wizard.

Prime barely noticed the form he impacted against, as he bounced off…only to be caught by a Lord blast and sent flying off into the distance.

And Weather Wizard…felt cold, as the last nerve signals from his shattered back blinked through his system, his wand falling from numb fingers…

Nothing to carry him. Nothing left but to fall. His last fall, after a lifetime of so many.

At least before black fingers seized him.

Perhaps Mark Mardon, in his last moments, thought for a second he had been saved. Then he remembered his life path.

There was no saving for him, as the Lord pulled him up to face him.

"No one."

And the Lord stabbed his claws through the Weather Wizard's chest. Strangely, the rogue barely felt it.

"…Clyde…" He whispered.

The Lord tossed the body aside, not watching it plummet into the growing ruin of Metropolis, instead looking at the blood on his claws.

He knew why he'd killed Mardon: he could have interfered with the Lord's cloud cover. It was the fact that the Weather Wizard had been trying to do that in itself…

Strange. What drove his supposed ilk to stay? He knew why the heroes did…why did the villains? Did they not realize what was happening?

Would no one, in the end?

Would the Lord have to fight the whole world to claim it?

Prime's scream of insane rage preceded his return, The Lord snapped his black eyes towards the noise, as his claws vanished into a bloodsoaked clenched fist.

Of course it would. If that was how it went.

If the whole world stood against him, then the whole world would fall before him.

And if Superboy-Prime thought he was exempt, then he was _sadly mistaken._

"_**ENOUGH."**_

Prime's fist shot over the Lord, as he dodged away from the attack and returned his own blow that Prime didn't dodge, slamming his fist into Prime's face and leaving a bloody imprint on his visage as the teenager was driven back.

"I've. HAD. _**ENOUGH!!!!!**_" The Lord yelled as he reformed his sword, switching from his katana to a gigantic Zweihaender before he charged forward and slashed Superboy-Prime's body and armor. The sword failed to cut like all his previous slices, and Prime retaliated with a blast of heat vision at the weapon.

It vanished into whispering shadows first, reforming in the Lord's other hand as he slashed Prime across the face. Prime let out a wordless cry of rage and countered with a punch, sending the Lord tumbling across the sky once more.

"That's it…that's it…" The Lord said, as he swung the sword at Prime and fired a piercing blast from its tip. Prime dodged away from it, the blast exploding in Metropolis Bay before Prime rammed both his fists into the Lord and the two went tumbling across the sky again, briefly trading punches and slashes before they broke apart.

Prime chuckled viciously, as smoke wafted from various places on the Lord's body, while his own form bore no such marks. The Lord glared at Prime in turn, but he seemingly couldn't deny the difference.

"You can't DO enough." Superboy-Prime taunted. "No matter what you do, it doesn't hurt me. Now, I'll _REALLY_ hurt you!"

And Prime flew at the Lord again, smashing into his body…as the Lord's form broke apart, growing viscous and seizing onto Prime as he flew on, the insane teenager giving a yell of surprise as he found himself caught on a makeshift hook, the Lord reforming his body where he'd been before.

"You must not fight too often with one enemy! OR YOU WILL TEACH HIM ALL YOUR ART OF WAR!" The Lord yelled, as he retracted his body and yanked Prime into his fist, the blow sending Prime tumbling in turn across the sky.

"THAT DIDN'T HURT!" Prime yelled, as he charged back at the Lord, who dodged aside.

"Yes, and that's all you need, isn't it? So strong, so tough, who cares about anything else? How could anyone else stop you?" The Lord said. "You need to learn a better game, you stupid child. Running with a pat hand too long is death."

"DON'T CALL ME STUPID!" Superboy-Prime screamed as he flew at the Lord again. He flew right into a snarl of cloak, before the Lord slammed his knee into Prime's torso to double him over and then rammed an elbow into the back of his head, sending him plummeting downwards for a bit.

"You see, there's being _invulnerable_, and then there's being _unstoppable_…"

Prime flew back up, crashing into the Lord once again as the two grappled across the sky.

"And I know the difference." The Lord said. Prime landed a punch across his face, but the Lord held his ground even as the impact nearly tore his head off again. "Never played chess, have you? Another game you should learn. You learn how to plan out all your moves in advance, knowing exactly when to put them in play, how to react to your opponent's moves…and when to make the last ones."

"SHUT UP!" Prime screamed as he cut loose with his heat vision: the Lord's body opened up and Prime's attack flew through empty space.

"Like this. You have superhuman hearing! Can hear a pin drop from ten miles away! Good for you!" The Lord said.

A black sphere abruptly formed around the pair, and Prime, for a second, abruptly became aware of all sound dropping away. The Lord had locked the two in an absolute bubble.

"Also bad." The Lord said as he slammed his hands over Prime's ears. "I did this with your 'fake' once. He got an annoying person. _You_, get Krakatoa erupting."

Black power blazed on the Lord's hands.

"Magnified 25,000 times."

It was a good thing the Lord had sealed the two in a bubble to keep all the power within focused on Prime. The noise he sent hammering into Prime's brain probably would have rendered everyone deaf in twenty square miles.

And as the sphere broke apart, it was clear that even Prime couldn't shrug something like that off: the Lord had neatly bypassed his invulnerability. For a moment Prime almost fell, and then lurched around, his eyes glazed, punch-drunk, a low gasping noise of surprise and confusion issuing from his mouth.

The Lord spoke up again. Guessing Prime's ears might be…off, he spoke mentally into his mind.

"You said I couldn't hurt you." The Lord said. "I can. And for thinking otherwise, you _ARE _stupid."

Superboy-Prime stared with an almost drugged expression before his rage finally threw off his fugue, as he screamed once more and charged at the Lord.

"Oh, that displeased you? Then you're really going to hate this." The Lord said, as he dodged aside: Prime gave rapid chase, howling his anger all the while. "Now, that invulnerability biomatrix of yours, it's damn potent. Even I can't seem to pierce it, which is really saying something…but you see, that natural shield of yours, it's designed a certain way. Most of it is focused on your outer epidermis, and beyond. It's why your outfit, cape, and armor haven't been damaged in the fight. But, as said, that's where it's FOCUSED. The problem with that is…"

Prime screamed once more.

And the Lord shot out his hand, black smoky energy surging out and flying right into Prime's mouth, shooting down his throat and into his stomach, lungs, and heart.

"The inside's not as well protected as it could be."

And the Lord detonated the energy within Prime's body, setting off a blast that was the equivalent of the shadow god firing the Watchtower's old nuclear energy cannon down Prime's throat. Prime's eyes nearly popped out of his head, as he staggered back and then hunched over, smoke pouring from his mouth as he coughed, gasped, and tried to draw air back into his agonized innards.

"You know, you should feel honored. You really can't use the same tricks twice in this world of ours…and here I am, having to use them on someone like YOU." The Lord lamented. "You should have stayed in your supposed paradise child. No matter how strong you are, the real world's worse. And that's why it belongs to me. Not you. Never you. NEVER."

"Augh, guh…auAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHH I'LL KILL YOUUUUUUUUUUU!" Superboy-Prime bellowed as he charged at the Lord again, but his punches were slower, sloppier, Prime's anger unable to overcome the fire within him. The Lord suspected he might have even been able to dodge without his time magic, but he didn't take the chance, as his eyes narrowed.

"You know what the difference between you and me is?" The Lord said. "I'm willing to face pain. If it gets what needs to be done accomplished…but you? You ran from it. And now you can't stop. Which is really bad for you, as I'm afraid you're out of places to run." The Lord said, as he dodged Prime's attacks. "There's a reason I've been doing this the way I did. Taking all your attacks, retaliating with all my so called 'pointless' ones in return…taking the pain. Because to beat you heroes, even ones as ruined as you, one has to know you. Body and soul. Your soul's beyond me, but your body…I wondered, for a moment, if even I could figure it out. It was close." The Lord said. "But I did. And I'm afraid my 'sound and fury' attacks weren't the culmination. No…just the last…confirmations. Of something you would never consider."

"RAAARRRGGGHHHHH!" Prime snarled, as he threw another dodged punch. For a moment, the Lord almost felt sorry for the child. There was a certain tragedy in those who couldn't grasp their fate.

"You're invulnerable to magic."

And the Lord dashed backwards and threw up his hands.

"BUT YOUR SUIT'S NOT!"

And black energy surged out and slammed into Prime's blue and gold armor, Prime stopping in surprise at the Lord's words, as the Lord poured on the power…

…and Prime grinned.

"What's this? Trying to break it? You can't break it, it's-UUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Prime retched as it suddenly felt like someone had stuck a needle of liquid nitrogen into every cell of his body. Unlike the last two attacks, it didn't HURT…but…

"What are you DOING?"

"Just replacing the yellow sunlight your suit constantly feeds into your cells with my own power. Like I said before. Magic can't hurt you. But it can _affect _you."

"YOU THINK YOU CAN DEPOWER ME!? I'M STRONGER THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WHOLE UNIVERSE! IT'LL NEVER WORK!" Prime screamed as he charged forward and smashed a punch across the Lord's face, his strength still apparent despite the bizarre wrenching coldness within him. The Lord took the attack, but he also didn't relent, as he continued pouring his darkness into Prime's being.

"STOP IT! STOP IT!" Prime yelled, as he threw more punches into the Lord's face. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?!?"

"Your cells…charged with solar energy…such power…it grants…" The Lord said through clenched teeth "I have no doubt…your body can adapt…and reject my energies…but it's not a switch. You can't just flick it off. While my power is forced into you…it's like getting sick! Your body needs time to return to normal, and while it does, it goes crazy! Stops working properly! And I suspect…!"

And the Lord abruptly cut off his power as he charged in.

"THAT INCLUDES YOUR DAMNABLE INVUNERABILITY BIOMATRIX!"

The Lord punched Prime in the face.

Once again, Prime was driven back.

But this time, as he recovered…a trickle of blood issued forth from his nose.

He felt it, somehow, over all the other abuse the Lord had caused him in the past moments, as he reached up and touched the red flow. It wasn't the first time he had bled…but in Prime's insane mind, it might as well have been.

"…no…"

"…check." The Lord said.

Superboy-Prime's head snapped back as the Lord zapped towards him and caught him under the chin with a vicious upward kick, sending Prime flying upwards as the Lord blurred and reformed elsewhere as he lashed out with another kick, burying it in the small of Prime's back once more and sending him tumbling across the sky again.

"NO! NO!" Prime screamed: he could feel the blows, they were hurting him…

And the Lord wasn't done as he reformed in front of Prime and slashed his claws across Prime's face: he barely made a scratch…but this time, there WAS a scratch.

"NO! S-STOP! STOP I-I-IT!" Prime screamed, before the Lord slashed down and smashed both fists into Prime's face and then seized him and kicked him back upwards, the Lord's form splitting apart and following Prime, each extra body turning into a blade that slashed upward across Prime's body and drove him further into the sky.

"HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"AND FOR THE LAST TIME, _SHUT UP!_"The Lord yelled, as he reformed above Superboy-Prime and punched downward, sending Prime shooting back towards the ground, as the Lord's gigantic blade flew back into his hand.

"And THIS, child, is MATE!"

And the Lord spun the sword up and hurled it down at Prime like a lightning bolt, the point impaling on Prime's armor and sending him rocketing down even faster…

While black power crackled across the Lord's body and focused on his left hand. For a moment, he tried to think of something to say.

And then let his action speak for him, slamming his hand down and firing a gigantic blast after Prime, as it blazed down and slammed into the sword and Prime, riding him all the way down.

The sound of Prime being brought down to earth seemed to shake the world in and of itself.

* * *

At the very least, it shook Metropolis, as the whole city spasmed under the impact. More broken buildings fell. Gas lines ignited. Heroes and villains alike were thrown off their feet.

And Nightwalker was sent sprawling on her face as her balance was badly altered, her sword clattering on the ground in front of her as she lost her grip on it. It was only due to luck Alexander didn't join her on the ground, as he adjusted his stance.

And Doomsday fell down, squashing Gauntlet beneath him (a Gauntlet energy shield kept anything really bad from happening), as he finally punched away Platinum Blonde and then Paragon, as he began breaking free of his semi-trapped state.

"Crap! More force! Give them time to recover!" Robin yelled, and several other Titans leapt in or opened fire.

Nightwalker looked up at Alexander, as he looked back down at her…while his energies exploded anew on his hands.

"…Go AHEAD." Nightwalker sneered. "That's WHO YOU ARE NOW."

"I can live with that." Alexander said.

* * *

And the Lord stared down at the crater Superboy-Prime had left…in dull, stunned shock.

Prime was GETTING UP.

It was slow, it was agonized, but he was getting up, as Superboy-Prime pushed the rubble off of himself and slowly began to rise to his feet.

And for a moment, the Lord's composure slipped, as the black rage and hate that burned at the core of his being slipped across his features…and then began surging through his limbs.

"NO." The Lord said, as he raised his hands.

The clouds rumbled. Black power crackled through them, the Lord's cloaks flowing around his body as the energies above began pouring into his form.

Superboy-Prime fully stood, looked up into the sky…and screamed a defiance that would have made any hero proud.

But Prime was no longer a hero.

And the Lord would NOT be defied.

"_**I. SAID. ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**_

And the Lord thrust his hands down as he put every single aspect of himself into the last strike. He'd thought his sword-impact would be enough. He'd aimed to shock Prime's vulnerable system into submission, and had essentially hit every single cell in his body with the force equivalent of 50,000 times Earth's gravity.

And it hadn't worked.

So the Lord went straight up to 250,000.

* * *

Whatever the dinosaurs had heard in their last days had probably sounded a lot like what happened.

The impact didn't shake the Earth, it virtually picked it up and rattled it around like a snow globe. The crater Prime was in octupled in size, even as the ground on either side was ripped apart from the sheer force being hammered into it, the ground tearing apart a long scar across Metropolis.

One third of the shattered city had already been razed. The Lord's final blow took care of another third, as dozens of blocks shattered, broke down, or otherwise disintegrated…

Including the Titans' battleground. Except theirs was even worse, as the ground, severely weakened from all the abuse already thrown at it, collapsed in on itself.

"OH N-!" Was all Robin could get out before Doomsday, the Titans, and their allies disappeared into a sinkhole with several blocks worth of buildings collapsing in on them, some of the fliers frantically attempting to keep clear…and being hammered down anyway by the sheer volume of rubble, the battleground's destruction swallowing them all in the end and leaving seemingly no remains.

* * *

And it wasn't just there, as Alexander's blast slammed into the ground next to Nightwalker as he barely avoided falling once more from the terrible force that had been brought down on the city of Metropolis…as a building nearby shattered at its base and began to come down between him and Nightwalker.

The last thing Alexander heard from her was a very bad word, and then he slammed his hand on his World View as it carried him away from the collapsing structure. Alexander didn't stop his retreat for another good thirty seconds before he stopped.

"…damn them." Alexander said. "What have…they…"

Then his eyes seized on a certain piece of information on his World View, as he reached out and enhanced it. It couldn't be…

The World View was doing an astonishing amount of calculations, and one of them was keeping track of all the Society's life signs. Alexander had already seen more than a few go dead as the Lord and Prime's fight carried out its terrible collateral damage.

But it had ALL the Society's life signs.

And Alexander couldn't believe what he was seeing, as he watched Superboy-Prime's vitals give one last jerk.

"It can't be…"

And then flatline.

And as Alexander stared at the holograms, he began to wonder if there was some mistake, some malfunction. This was impossible. Prime was unbeatable. He had known Prime, Clark Kent, most of his life, and the boy was almost too stubborn and stupid to lose, even if he hadn't had the powers of an angry god.

And yet…the flatline continued.

* * *

Up in the sky, a hundred or so feet above it, the Lord looked down at Prime's form, laying in the epicenter of the wound the Lord had carved on the world. Again, he mused…

As he listened to Prime's last breath rasp from his lungs, and then his heart stop beating.

"…the rest…is silence." The Lord said. He wondered briefly if he should go down and rip Prime's armor suit off, but after a beat, decided there was no point. It could feed all the energy it wanted to Prime, there was no longer any hand behind the wheel.

The crisis was over.

Long live the crisis.

* * *

Now what?

Now, Alexander Luthor thought, he would lose, unless the remnants of his villain army could gather together and beat something which had just killed the man who had fought off dozens of superheroes, including some of the strongest on the planet, at once, and laughed at their attacks…

But wait…Prime was, as said, on par with a god. Surely anything that had bested him would be pushed to their utter limits. Maybe a last ditch attack could work. Maybe this could all still be salvaged…

And then it happened.

* * *

The Lord had prepared well for what he'd planned to do, ever since he'd gotten some idea of the forces in play.

Yet he was still nearly finished, virtually all of his power expended in his efforts to stop Prime, especially his final attack. He was a perfect target, much like Alexander had been.

But he was not Alexander Luthor.

Luthor had fallen to darkness.

The Lord was of it.

And it was all around him.

And he knew what it had to do.

"…come…" The Lord said, as he began floating up again.

Calling on all the darkness below.

"Give it to me…give me your angers, your regrets, your grudges and hates…give me your poisons, your venoms, your vitriols…give me all the shortcuts and failures that led to this…give me what you all are. Give me your definition, so I may define…" The Lord said, as he began feeding on every bit of darkness, of all concepts, in the battlefield below, as he felt his strength returning, even as he floated up and his dark clouds surged and roiled above him.

His sword returned…and transformed into a staff, as his power, not fully restored but greatly replenished, surged and burned through him, ripping and tearing through the skies.

"You should have listened…you could have heard them…and now you will…now you all will…"

The power raged around his staff, as he held it out.

"For this is a new world. And it will be mine." The Lord said. "And what is a crisis…without shadow demons?"

And the Lord swung his staff up, and black power erupted upward and exploded into the clouds, as they began to burn with even greater energy.

"I hear them…I hear them…and so…" The Lord said. "To you, world of mine. From one magnificent bastard's tongue to another. HERE. COME. _**THE DRUMS!"**_

And the clouds split open, and legions of shadows descended, eager to devour all those who would oppose them below.

* * *

And as Alexander watched the Lord's armies descend on Metropolis, he began to briefly wonder if, after all his brilliance and efforts, he had somehow, all along, backed the wrong horse.

* * *

_Out- out are the lights- out all!_

_And, over each quivering form,_

_The curtain, a funeral pall,_

_Comes down with the rush of a storm,_

_While the angels, all pallid and wan,_

_Uprising, unveiling, affirm_

_That the play is the tragedy, "Man,"_

_And its hero the Conqueror Worm._


	14. The Dark Age: Conqueror Wyrm

The Dark Age: Conqueror Wyrm

_**Why should this work?**_

_**Metropolis, home of the famous Daily Planet. I suspect if the renowned Mrs. Lane were to interview me, she'd ask me that question.**_

_**Am I not declaring war on the entire world? Am I not making the same tactical error of not knowing my limits, the fallacy that felled the likes of Louis XIV, Napoleon, and Hitler?**_

_**Am I not the villain, destined to lose?**_

_**Sometimes, I do wonder that.**_

_**Then I just look at the world itself.**_

_**The world that defines me as in the wrong.**_

_**It itself shows why I am going to win.**_

_**This world has long lost the right to define anything.**_

_**Forget humanity; it's hopeless without even bothering an examination. You can throw all the examples of selflessness and nobility in my face all you want, I can throw a thousand more back. I know your true selves. No matter how much or how well it's hidden behind lies, delusion, or idiocy.**_

_**No, why don't I hold up your golden idols, your superheroes? Shining beacons of the best and the brightest, all that's right in the world?**_

_**Right.**_

_**Superman, your champion, when he died, four beings replaced him. How many embodied the ideals he so intently upheld? One. The rest were a villain in disguise, a racial-purity computer program cloaked in false flesh, and an immature spawn far more interested in self-gratification. One out of four, and the one that truly walked in his steps was the one that did not even bear a link to the Kryptonian. Some would say this shows why Superman protects the world. I know the reality: If even HE, a so-called god of the greatest virtues, of truth, justice, and the American way, could only get it right a quarter of the time, it shows how hopeless the world he protects has become.**_

_**Batman is insane. It's controlled, and beneficial to his city, but he's insane. The greatest human being alive is utterly mad, utilizing dressing up as an armored rodent and punching other lunatics in the face for self-medication. Why else would his fellows mind wipe him? Why else would he respond by building Brother Eye? Why else would he, upon suffering grievous injury, choose such a failure for a replacement, and chase out other heroes who dare enter his city? Is this all worth moments of control and kindness? Should he not be in a cell in Arkham rather than at the table of the Justice League? Do they not realize his ability to think and conceive solutions combined with what he is at his core is all building to the day he murders them in their beds?**_

_**Wonder Woman, forged in clay, perfect and immaculate, and as much of an abnormality as Superman. She believes she can change the world, she has no right to even TRY. She can't even BEGIN to understand the hopelessness of those she walks among. She was molded by the hands of gods, and she strikes amongst the offal of delusional animals. A failure before she even began, chasing ignus fatuus right off a cliff.**_

_**Hal Jordan…feh. You can place all the blame on a giant yellow space bug you want, but what happened was pure human. He thought he could do anything, but when that was exposed as fraud, so was he. His return merely shows an inability to grasp the truth, a factor shared in those with fear and without.**_

_**The Martian, living amongst you. Disguised as you, protecting you, serving as a 'man hunter'. Maybe one day he'll realize that no matter what he does, he will never be one of you. Maybe if he spent some time away, he'd see how much of his pain comes not from his own past, but his present and future. From YOU. Maybe that means he is beyond help, like so much of his adopted planet.**_

_**I speak of just the vanguard. What of all their so-called fellows?**_

_**Are they not the angels? Should they not strike me down?**_

_**If they are…then what has become of angels?**_

_**How much of recent time is littered with missed chances, false starts, good intentions not even given a chance to pave a road before they ended? How often have shortcuts been taken, how many have decided the weight of morality was simply too much to bear, and strove to find ways to cast off the weight, ease their own burden? How many entered a world for others when all they could think of in the end was themselves?**_

_**I am not what is wrong with the world. The world is, was, hopelessly deranged. A slow rot sown in seeds of delusion. A cancer that no longer seems to even pay lip service to itself.**_

_**If I am wrong, then why can't these heroes seem to win in any reasonable way? Why has the line become so blurred between good and evil, a murk so deep it seems even beyond capricious fate?**_

_**If I am wrong, why does the world empower me so?**_

_**Is this not what it wants?**_

_**Am I not what is only right to rule?**_

_**And if not…why did you let it come to this?**_

_**Why did you accommodate what harmed you so?**_

_**Were you really so blind?**_

_**There is no more time for talk. The time has come to accept what you've made.**_

_**If that means your undoing, you have no one to blame but yourself.**_

_**Although I suspect as I cast you to oblivion, all the fingers will be pointed anywhere **_**but **_**yourself.

* * *

**_"…I hope I haven't just been made redundant."

There was no answer to her comment, as Marissa Mori lowered the high-tech 'bino-scanners' and turned towards her 'fellow'. Then again, she hadn't been positioned on this large hill several miles outside of Metropolis to have a deep conversation, as she tapped a button on her wrist-mounted computer. Her experimental 'living metal' armor settled on her body as she did so, the black of the protective alloy indistinguishable against the reinforced black textiles of the more traditional thin combat armor beneath it. She was not expected to fight, merely to observe and ensure the Lord's main 'weapon' of this conflict remained in working order, but the Lord considered most everything these days, and prepared accordingly.

It had to be why Marissa was guarding who she was.

Once, she had been magnificently terrifying despite her somewhat small form. Majestic robes had cloaked her, the symbol of the unfathomable power she had commanded: a grasp of magic so fierce and intense even the greatest masters of it on the planet would have given her consideration. But things had changed for the Sorceress, as she sat, almost limp, in the electronic wheelchair/life support system she was now attached to, her opulent vestments replaced by far simpler ones and bandages traced with arcane symbols covered her head, neck, and one eye. The eye that remained exposed didn't show much in the way of recognizing that fact, the pitiless abyss that had once burned there reduced to a dull midnight that may as well have been blankness half the time. She had reigned high, and like many before her, fallen hard. Unlike some, she had not been blessed with fortune or later understanding to lessen it. That should have killed her.

But such a death would have been so…impractical.

In the events she had just watched, Marissa understood why the Lord had saved the Sorceress, placed her in a position to heal, and opened up the possibility that she might rise up against him one day. Because that day was not today, and today the Sorceress' skills, granted to the Lord in return for his care, were more apparent than ever. Magic had been ripped apart, reborn, and was entering a brand new age, and yet she had rode out the waves and re-learned her mastery with a speed that defied comprehension, despite her grievous injuries. Now she sat here, even as she healed, lending that magical mastery to her…benefactor.

The eye, however, was not _always _blank.

Marissa looked at the smoldering ember within it, pondering what fueled it. Was it being enslaved? It was not that severe a bondage; such an act would surely backfire later. The Master had made sure to demonstrate to the Sorceress the mutually beneficial design of their 'relationship'. Then again, some beings would rankle at any kind of mutual co-existence. Marissa knew that perhaps better then anything.

Maybe it was the fact she was not the one making this glorious stand. Her abilities were being well used, and in truth the Lord tapping her Sorceress powers stood a far better chance than either of them alone, but there was often no words that could go against ambition, or worse, thwarted ambition. If the Sorceress had had a proper voice in the circumstances that had ended with her being here, things likely would have gone quite differently. Then again, she might have formed an alliance with the Lord anyway, for their correlative reasons if nothing else. It was hard to predict the minds of beings who could rewrite time and space with a wave of their hands.

Perhaps it was the chair she was locked in. Even with the fact it was needed to keep her alive, and ensure that she might, one day, resemble her former self in a state beyond the faintest shadow, the Sorceress had never quite lost her loathing of technology.

Marissa wondered if that made the magician queen resent or hate _her _instead of the situation in general. She did not really care in either case. She had her orders, and she followed.

Though she questioned if one of said orders was still necessary, with the Lord's shadow army descending on the shattered ruin that had once been Metropolis.

"You know, he wouldn't be able to do this without you." Marissa said. "You _could _look at this as a favor. Even if he doesn't succeed, with how many casualties are going to be inflicted, the next time around will be much easier."

The Sorceress had no reply again: as far as Marissa could tell never she never spoke at all any more. The brilliant tech girl had no idea what her voice actually sounded like.

Speech, however, wasn't needed. Her eye said it all.

_Questioning your precious master?_

"I know he's having trouble. If he had full strength and was definitely going to destroy the lot of them, he wouldn't need to have summoned that army. He needs it to spread out his strength and eliminate as many as possible without the risk of being attacked by multiple enemies at once. He's getting tired. Even if he DOES manage to kill them all, he'll have to retreat afterwards to rest. I doubt he'll have the energy for…more battles after all this…" Marissa said, as the shadow fell over her. She looked up to see what it was, as it was already fairly dark due to the Lord's protective cloud cover, and something would have to be damn big to further block out the light.

The assessment was correct: it was damn big. Marissa stared at it for a moment.

"…I was wondering when they'd have a Deus Ex Machina come into play." Marissa said, and then began scanning it with her binoculars. In her last moments of non-business thought, she mused that the Lord had considered Prime to be the greatest obstacle, and that if he could overcome him, the world would be a step down.

Watching the gigantic skyship sweep over her and approach the distant battleground, she also remembered a quote by the late musician Frank Zappa.

In the fight between you and the world, back the world.

* * *

BULWARK (The Bureau for Unusual Law Enforcement, Worldwide Strategy, American Command) was a creation of Cold War paranoia. With a rise in the numbers of superhumans noted worldwide, the United States' government had stepped in to begin developing weapons and strategies for the event of a Communist attack involving metahumans. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, BULWARK had (among others) turned its attentions to the so-called Justice League of America. After all, among their numbers were the most powerful beings on Earth, possibly the universe as a whole, and together no threat had ever managed to triumph over them. The danger that they could overthrow any government without credible resistance put fear into the hearts of every politician.

So BULWARK had been given a very large piece of the military budget pie. Every so called "Star Wars" missile defense project was just a cover for BULWARK spending. and it showed.

The head of the program, Roger Candide, cut a trim figure. He seemed to favor his left leg, which was a prosthetic. You would never know it watching him; Roger gave only the slightest hint of a limp. At his command was a massive air force, ready to make a mark on the Battle of Metropolis. The flagship was an _Achilles_ class Hover-carrier, which was the result of reverse engineered alien technology and somebody who was a fan of _Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D_. It commanded entire wings of air superiority fighters, F-18's equipped with alien technology mostly; a pair of smaller _Hector _Hover-corvettes and several dozen CESTUS-class battle armor suits made up the rest of the fleet. Not a gigantic force, but the CESTUSes were each rated as strong enough to beat an entire tank platoon, and unlike some military units, the pilots had been exposed to actual combat instead of endless simulations that always seemed to bite other organizations like BULWARK in the rear. The _Achilles _itself was armed with numerous secondary weapons, and its main gun, a massive rail gun, hit with the force of a tactical nuclear weapon. This was an army that could have ended the Cold War in a few minutes of active combat.

Yet, they were still going to be cannon fodder.

Roger had been opposed to the _Achilles_ from the moment he had heard about it. After all, this was a world of Supermen. Any target so obvious would be the first thing hit in the event of a mass metahuman attack. He was much happier about the CESTUSes, since they were made specifically to fight metahumans. He pitied the poor fighter pilots most of all; they would be the first in and the first to die. But he still gave a show of confidence, knowing that morale was an army's most important weapon…

A bridge officer was speaking to him. Roger put his musing away for a later time.

"Sir, we're getting a hail from the Liberty League. They say that they and the other superhuman teams are in position."

"Good. They have their orders." Roger replied. This time they had pulled out all the stops; every combat capable metahuman in the city of Uberton had been brought in, adding a hundred or so men and women to the battle. Based on the scattershot reports he'd gotten, Roger suspected that quantity wouldn't make up the difference between their powers and Superboy-Prime's, but he had no other choice…

The sudden change before him, from controlled to anything but, was so abrupt Roger wondered for a second if he was just dreaming this whole crisis.

All the bridge officers, moments ago the picture of calm efficiency, all suddenly recoiled and began pulling their headsets off, some actually throwing them on the ground. Even as that happened, the monitors they were utilizing lit up like Christmas trees. Which meant nothing good: Roger considered himself a fair judge of quality, and such a reaction should not have been caused by a sudden storm of activity.

Normal activity, that was. Nothing broke detachment and doing one's job then a myriad of voices going from reporting status to screaming in surprise, shock, or worse.

"Sir, we've encountered a whole new enemy force! They just…came out of nowhere! Right on top of our force's heads!" One of the bridge officers managed to get out.

"Sir, I'm reading a magical spike! Someone just cranked the dial up!" Another yelled. Roger didn't have to be in the position he was in to know the two were likely related. With the reports he'd gotten earlier from Athena Jones, he also had a pretty damn good idea where it had come from.

"All units, give them PLENTY of room! Get the _Achilles _to maximum rail gun range, then hover there. Wait and see what happens." Roger ordered.

"Sir, shouldn't we intervene?"

"It's like the old prayer officer. I accept what I cannot change. Let's just hope that whoever walks away is softened up enough for the rail gun to make a bit of difference."

The officer blanched slightly as her eyes drifted back to her monitors. "The friendlies already in the field are being butchered. It's…it's some sort of shadow army, they're attacking everything! Hero, villain, they're going after them all! I don't know how the Titans are staying alive in the carnage!"

Roger acknowledged her with a nod. He offered a brief prayer, suspecting that the jig was up. _Oh well. If my Rob can go in there with that little Gauntlet of his, then I can stay brave with two trillion dollars of military hardware backing me up. _"All CESTUS units, move in!"

* * *

If Roger Candide only knew the irony of his words, he might have felt as deep a regret as the one that had bloomed in the heart of Virgil Hawkins, aka the electromagnetism controller Static, as he looked at the massive rubble filled crater that had marked the scene of the Titans' massive battle with Doomsday. He'd thought the gang wars of downtown Dakota when each side had the metahuman 'bang babies' had been destructive. Apparently he still had some levels of capacity to learn.

"…damn. We're too late." Static said, floating above the carnage on his levitating metal disc. Even with his best friend Richie, aka the supervenes Gear, seemingly pulling a rocket car out of his rear end, the pair had arrived in the Battle of Metropolis and found that the Titans, who had been the ones to properly summon them, had already fallen. For a moment, Static warred with the idea that he could have been faster somehow, and then dismissed it. Dakota had needed protection during this crisis too. Surely they'd have understood. "Gear, can you…?"

"Trying." Richard 'Gear' Foley said, his see-through green facemask alight with readings as he tried to detect life signs amidst the rubble. "Damn it, can't get anything…the whole world's still off-kilter, it might…"

"Uh Rich, are you getting anything on radar?"

"What? No, why…"

"THEN HEADS UP!" Static yelled as he fired a blast of electrical energy over Gear's head: Gear turned around to watch it strike and rip apart…

Something. Neither Gear's eyes nor his immediate mechanical follow-up scans could properly classify the entity. It seemed to be made of a weird cross between inky black smoke, tar, and a gelatinous body-type that reminded Gear of their old enemy Ebon. Static's electrical blast had tore the thing apart, but it was still writhing on the ground after it had been hit.

It also wasn't alone. More were coming, all composed of the exact same mystery material. Now that he actually could see them approach, Gear could also see they were all carrying weapons of the same strange blackness: swords, claws, axes, spears, halberds and all sorts of other armaments…

And none of them were reading on his radar. Hell, his proper visual computers seemed confused by them, constantly re-calculating under the assessment that it was making some kind of error in its efforts. As if the day wasn't bad enough, with the world falling apart and then getting dragged into some kind of superhero/villain Stalingrad.

"What the heck are THOSE?" Static yelled, as he blew another one apart with another electrical blast, while Gear hurled one of his concussive shock bombs at a third. Unlike Static's attack, his device just briefly disrupted the material of whatever the dark beings were made of, making a small hole at the shoulder for a moment before the entity's body began to reform, the 'injured' creature falling back as more complete versions moved to the attack's front.

"They're not ninja info cards." Gear quipped, pulling out another device, the so-called 'Zap Cap': once envisioned as a battery, it now functioned as a restraining device, as he tossed it at another shadow being. The device went off, wrapping strong metal wires around the creature before it delivered its paralyzing shock.

Which proved to not be paralyzing at all in this situation, as the entity's body seemingly reduced it's cohesion and let the restraint device slip right through it.

"GAH!" Gear yelled, sending a blast of fuel to his jet boots to jerk backwards before one of the entities' spears caught him, Static himself retreating as he sent more destructive lightning bolts into his attackers. His offensive efforts bore more fruit than Gear's, but Gear could see the dark piles of whatever made up the entities reforming on the ground behind the still functioning attackers, slowly but surely.

"Jesus Christ! Now it's _Night of the Living Dead! _" Static cursed, as more shadow monsters flew, leapt, and lunged to attack, unspeaking and unrelenting in their sole reason for existence.

* * *

Perhaps Static and Gear thought they had it bad…

"OH CRAP! BACK! GET BACK!" Athena Jones yelled, as she opened fire with her modified Tommy gun.

…they could have had it worse.

The bullets began ripping into the shadow creatures as they touched down on the roof. They staggered, recoiling somewhat from the assault, but it was clear they did not react to such things as a normal being would.

"God I miss drug runners." Athena said, as she rapid-switched her empty bullet cylinder with a fresh one and gave the two shadow entities on the roof another lead barrage, this time blowing their upper halves apart. Like the T-1000, the creatures stayed on their feet, and as Athena's gun clicked dry again, they began flowing back up to reform themselves, even as another one dropped down on the roof.

"Damn it! Next time Marmot invites me to one of these things, I'm hanging up!" Athena said, as she dropped her empty Tommy gun and pulled out her 44. Magnum. The heavy-bore artillery didn't even slow the new attacker down, as it ran towards her and slashed out with a nodachi sword, cleaving her hat in half as she dodged and finally broke, turning around to run for her life.

She didn't have far to run, as a few steps brought her to the edge of the roof. The Lord's omega-impact against Prime had sent out such waves of force that, despite her distance, had nearly knocked her out cold, and she'd just recovered when the shadow creatures had appeared. She'd completely lost her bearings, and it had cost her: she was cut off.

"…and I never saw France…" Athena said quietly, turning back around and bringing her gun back up, firing the last few shots she had as the shadow creatures closed in…

Before a hand seized onto Athena's jacket, yanking her away from the creature's weapons as she yelped in surprise.

"I'm always pulling you out of trouble, whippersnapper." Her rescuer said, as Athena cranked her head to see who it was. If she'd ever met Amy Erickson, Athena would have noticed the resemblance between the two, save for the more mature figure the grown woman carrying her had, as well as the faintest trace of the beginning of crow's feet on her face. Well that, and the fact that her rescuer wore a star-covered skirt instead of star-covered pants. Even with the fact she hadn't met Amy, Athena knew who this was.

"Old Paragon!"

The grimace on 'Old Paragon's' face was quite obvious.

"I prefer Paragon…"

Without a word of warning, 'Old Paragon' abruptly hurled Athena up into the air. Athena didn't even have time to let out a surprised scream, as the shadow creatures came for 'Old Paragon'…

She met them with thunderous punches, knocking one aside and literally punching another's head off. A third snuck in from her flank, slashing out with claws and slicing a wound across 'Old Paragon's' shoulder, before a thunderous roundhouse blow knocked it into a shattered building. 'Old Paragon' kicked her last attacker away and snapped out her arm to catch Athena once more.

"Classic." Paragon Classic finished.

"Yes, right, Classic Paragon. Please, PLEASE warn me next time." Athena said.

"No time." Paragon Classic said, as she dropped down to a somewhat undamaged street. "You'd better find someplace to hide Athena. I took the best Krupp could put out and shrugged it off…and I still feel this." Paragon Classic said, indicating the wound the shadow creature had made, blood leaking down her arm.

"And you?"

"I plan to give them WHAT FOR!" Paragon Classic yelled, as more shadow creatures dropped down to attack her. She grabbed one's spear and lifted it up and down, smashing the entity down on its fellow like a pile driver before she kicked a third one away.

"Old Para…Classic! This is a bad idea! Too exposed! Don't just plant your feet where you first can! ACK!" Athena yelped, as another shadow creature came for her. She drew her last weapon, a Bowie knife, which she planted in the creature's forehead before running for it, barely avoiding getting cut in half by the creature's retaliatory axe swing. The knife dropped out of the entity's head…as Paragon Classic crashed down on it, stomping it into the ground. Moments later, yet another one attacked her. A moment after THAT, Paragon Classic had seized it and ripped it in half. Vertically.

"We really should be running you know!" Athena yelled.

"Go if you will! I will remain!" Paragon Classic said. "I've heard the sniggers for too long!"

"Yes but…you WHAT?"

"Athena, if you, I, WE, can make it here, we can once again become big players in this business!" Paragon Classic said, grabbing another entity's sword as it swung at her, the blade cutting into her hand but not slowing her down. "Hah! Your weapons lack the fine edge needed, monsters!"

"…WHAT?" Athena repeated, as Paragon Classic knocked her current attacker away.

"Their weapons hurt, but my gifts seem to be able to take them for the most part…"

"NO NO! The players part!"

"Oh come on Athena! Don't you miss the respect?"

"I like LIVING more!"

"Life is grand! But battle is, in its own way, as well!" Paragon Classic said, ducking under another attacking shadow creature and upper-cutting it out of its non-existent boots. "And to the victor go the spoils! Just think! Justice League, personal adventures, the works! Maybe even form a new team!"

"…we're the last line of defense against who knows how many evil forces, and you're worrying about THAT OLD PARAGON?"

"I've been around a while Athena. Everyone thought Hitler was going to end the world. Then Baron Von Ohm. Then Mecha-Reagan. After you've been around a while, you begin to see a pattern." Paragon Classic said.

As another shadow creature came for her.

….while the one she'd earlier ripped in half surged up and merged with its weapon. Athena's eyes widened.

"And for the LAST time, it's not OLD PARAGON, it's Paragon Clas…!"

The shadow creature attacked. Paragon Classic whirled and dodged away. The creature abruptly phased several feet to the side.

Directly behind the long-timer.

The sword tip exploded from Paragon Classic's chest. Blood spattered the ground.

"…sic?" Paragon Classic said in confusion. A moment later she hit the ground, dead.

"…no." Athena said, as the shadow monster looked up from its task…and for a moment, there was something behind the blank mask of its face, as it raised one hand and wagged a finger at Athena like the creature was chastising an errant child.

"…why…you…I AM SICK OF THIS NONSENSE!" Athena screamed, reaching for a gun that was no longer there, then, lacking that, picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it at the shadow monsters.

It bounced off. Paragon Classic's killer looked at it briefly, then started towards her, more of its kind coming to back it up…

All of them were enveloped by the attack, as a cloud of acidic dust combined with a powerful telekinetic blast obliterated the shadow creatures.

"That doesn't work very well." The Manhattan Guardian said, appearing by Athena's side. The magical vigilante Ragman dropped down on her other side, while the heroes behind the attack, Metamorpho and Faith, floated back near them. There was someone else with them, an Italian-looking man in a white suit…that Athena's near-total recall was able to match up to a wanted poster she'd seen once.

"Aren't you a bad guy?" She asked the Angle Man.

"At this stage, only idiots are still fighting each other. I prefer to focus on WHAT'S TRYING TO KILL ALL OF US." The Angle Man said. "And I thought that psychotic copycat running around was bad…"

"SAVE IT BENDY! HERE THEY COME!" The Manhattan Guardian yelled, pulling out a nightstick as more shadow entities surged down the street towards the group. Noticing a gun in the Guardian's waistband, Athena procured it for herself and opened fire, even as the Angle Man used his trademark tool to 'shunt' the first attacking wave into two different places, cutting them in half.

Unlike a normal army, that did not slow them down.

* * *

Indeed, the heroes and villains who, but five minutes earlier, been all too eager to rip each other's throats out, were now finding the flimsiest of common ground to stand on as the Lord's shadow army descended on them. It probably helped that around _two _minutes earlier the Lord had done a massive 'darkness drain' on everyone below, sucking away the negative emotions of the masses beneath them, clearing the heads of the heroes and dampening the 'enthusiasms' of the villains.

Though in truth, some villains were simply incorrigible. Sinestro had taken the new attack as just more targets to blast, alternating between ripping apart the Lord's shadows and attempting to do so with whatever heroes he could find. Likewise, Barbara Minerva, aka the Cheetah, had gotten the killing lust in her blood too amped up to even consider joining forces with the heroes even if she'd wanted to, as she furiously attacked Stargirl and her armored stepfather STRIPE.

"Damn! Someone's on the rag!" Stargirl said, retreating from her attacker, mainly because she saw more shadows coming. She slashed out with her Cosmic Staff, the legacy of the Knight family that had been gifted to her, aiming it at strange entities. Her was true, as the solar energies the weapon commanded blasted apart the shadows. Unlike other heroes, she did not find her foes start to pull themselves back together, the creatures instead vanishing in wispy black tendrils of darkness that reminded Courtney Whitmore of burned paper caught on heat drafts.

"Now don't be crude young lady…" Pat Dugan replied, as he tried to disable the Cheetah with sonic pulses and found that they were either ineffective or being used on a metahuman too crazy to notice. "Augh…getting too old for this…"

"Me NOT listen! But such peace quiet here! Me only involved by accident!" Bizzaro said, plowing through his own shadow attackers. He'd gone to Pluto, as requested (if Bizzaro had anything resembling a rational mind, he would have noticed how much quicker he'd gotten to the tiny planet and back to Earth, far quicker than he should have. It seemed with the destruction of the Speed Force, not to mention the violations done to the universe at the hands of Alexander Luthor, the laws of physics had taken a more vicious pounding than the norm, and the 'speed of light' had been supplanted as the top limit of motion, with the new limit unknown. Perhaps it would readjust itself back to normal later, but for the moment…), and then come back to Metropolis to turn himself in as the request also asked. Except there was a gigantic fight already happening there, and no Superman to be found. And then shadows had attacked him. What was an antipodal clone to do? "WHEEEEE! ME BORED!"

"This isn't working very well Inspector Turpin!" Iron yelled, as he and his fellow Metal Man bashed and sliced with their malleable namesake forms, trying to hold back a legion of shadows from the all too human Metropolis Special Crimes Unit, who aided where they could with what firepower they had left after all the combat they'd already seen.

"Then find SOMETHING THAT DOES!" Turpin snarled back, putting a bullet from his 44. Magnum in the head of the nearest shadow. The fact it kept walking despite _that _fact just made Turpin angrier. "Damn it, for all the times for the boy scout to take a vacation!"

* * *

"The ants go marching one by one…hurrah…hurrah…" The Lord murmured to himself, turning the upbeat child's tune into a sinister dirge, holding his staff up as his shadow army continued to rain down on Metropolis. After a moment of thought, he'd named the horde of clones The Abhorred: no one would like meeting them, and in his own way, the Lord didn't like sending them out. Heroes, with their energies and talents all devoted on such worthless defiance. What glories they could have built in his world, the proper world…what a waste. "The ants go marching…one by one…hurrah…hurrah…"

The plane buzzed him so closely he almost got sucked into the jet engines. The Lord blinked, moments before another one arrived and opened fire on him with its Gatling guns. Bullets that could rip through the strongest of modern tank armors shredded through him.

He barely noticed, as he glanced at the second plane.

"Oh, you wish to raise an objection?"

The Lord pointed at the retreating plane, and the BULWARK pilot within screamed as blackness consumed the cockpit. A moment later said plane got a burst of speed no afterburners could muster, as it plowed into the first plane, both going up in a big ball of fire.

"…your debating skills lack substance." The Lord said, as he turned and looked at the distant _Achilles_. He'd be aware of it, on a basic level, but the assault on him had put it in the forefront of his mind. "Maybe YOU can raise a credible argument?"

The latest Abhorred stopped their descent on Metropolis, and, in a quick change of direction, promptly swarmed towards the Achilles like a mass of devouring locusts.

* * *

"WE HAVE INCOMING!" The bridge officer screamed.

Roger Candide didn't have to be told: he could see the Abhorred coming on the main view screen. For a moment he flashed back a few decades, recalling the massive TIE fighter attack on the Rebel Alliance at the end of _Return of the Jedi._ That had been his third date with Miho actually…

Which drove the fact home that if he didn't do something, NONE of them were going to be seeing their significant others again.

"Activate the point shields! All anti air guns, fire at will! Call back the Fighters! Full speed ahead!"

Not quite too late, but not prompt enough either, as moments later the Abhorred closed to attack distance and did so with a vengeance, all over the _Achilles._

"ARGH!" Nathaniel Peregrine, aka the first Peregrine, yelled as the assault of the Abhorred caused a Star Trek-like burst of chaos across the main bridge, the shadow creatures blasting and tearing into the ship even as its myriad defenses blew them apart. "I signed up to tell you Philistines how to make sure my anti-grav packs didn't explode in your ignorant faces! You mentioned nothing about fighting shadow gods!"

"You would prefer insane supercharged Kryptonians?" Roger said, as he pulled himself back up. "Our weapons are working! Earn your paycheck Perrier and organize the CESTUS units!"

"I swear I am never ordering drunks in public again…" Peregrine muttered, pulling up a mechanical device and placing it against his face, scanning in on the distant Lord. "Curse it!"

"What?" Roger said.

"This mechanism of mine allows me to compile various data as well as instantly formulate various hypotheses to accurately represent the scanned target's combat capacity in numerical fashion!"

"…like…?"

"Batman is 60. Your son's teammates Cyborg is 400, and the alien female is 600. Your son when he's serious is 350 by the way. Wonder Woman is 1500. Hyperion is 1400. Superman in his natural state is 2500. The Martian Manhunter is theorized to be 2600..."

"Fine, fine! What's your device say about our current enemy?"

"Spiking past 4000."

"So you mean to tell me that we don't have anything strong enough to match him."

"Not quite! He has yet to battle a genius!" Peregrine said, lowering his scanning as he snapped his eyes towards the nearest deck hand. "YOU, PEON! STOP NAPPING AND HELP ME STRAP INTO THE MARK IV!"

"…you WANT to go out and fight?" The BULWARK agent said.

"You've seen the Mark IV. I'm better off in that than in this bucket of bolts. It was designed in 1985 based on half understood alien technology. The past. What MY HANDS have wrought…is the future."

"_You __**HAVE**__ no future.__"_

The whisper cut across everyone's minds like a razor, as everyone winced and held their heads.

"_Little toy soldiers. You__'__ve picked the wrong time to play.__"_

"He's IN OUR HEADS." One of the bridge officers mewed, clearly not liking the experience.

"I should have taken Luthor's offer." Peregrine muttered.

"_Ah, the elder Candide. I don__'__t believe we__'__ve met.__"_The Lord's voice echoed in Roger's head. _"__He__'__s dead you know. He stood his ground and it consumed him. I wonder if he died choking on dirt or on his own pulped innards__…__.and you can cut out that distasteful anti-telepathic technique. I__'__ve suffered beyond anything your world could throw at me. And I think your pretty little wife would be horrified at what you can churn out.__"_

"…you might be telling the truth or not. Either way, the war goes on." Roger said. "All CESTUS units, move to pure disruption efforts! Break out the red sun radiation weapons, and if anyone still has those anti-vampire ray weapons installed, use them too! Do nothing alone! Stay in your squads! Keep your eyes open, and don't be afraid to fall back! Don't be a hero; we aren't going to win this by attrition."

"_Ah, the good soldier, ever marching ahead. Very well then. I__'__ll settle for ripping apart your precious organization and the many men you so carefully nurtured to send off to die, in their last, pointless war, against the inevitability of__…"_

The Lord's voice abruptly scrambled and cut out. Roger blinked.

"Sorry sir. Took me a touch longer to get up here than I expected." Ermine Chalk, BULWARK Psychic First Class, said as she appeared next to Roger. "The shadow being talks a big game, but his mental abilities are nothing extraordinary."

"Apology accepted." A brief prayer flashed through Roger's mind. Please, let that have been a lie.

* * *

"Impressive…" The Lord said, as he found himself shut out. Well, routs could be rather dull, as he redoubled the efforts of the Abhorred. That star-dressed woman had found out the hard way what happened when he personally took control of the reins of his creations. Now these humans would, and their heroes, and as many fools as he had to destroy.

"And they all go marching…down…around…to get out of the…reign, heh, doom, doom, doom, doom…" The Lord murmured.

KER-ZAPPO!

"I'm not THAT bad." The Lord said darkly, the hole burned through his chest hissing black smoke as he turned and looked at the two floating suits of black mechanical armor near him, each nearly nine feet tall, the CESTUS power armor fully incasing the BULWARK agents within.

"Ah, the usual wasted space and excess bulk attempting to project the image of strength. How very _YOU._"

The second pair of blasts, fired from the CESTUS' right hands, exploded against the Lord's head.

* * *

"What the…AGENTS! RETREAT! DO NOT ENGAGE! WHY ARE…!" Roger yelled as he realized two of the CESTUS Units had broken off and attacked the Lord.

"My best friend was in one of those planes, Director. I refuse to cower for this nutcase." Bulwark Captain Sean O'Reilly said, aiming the chain gun on his right shoulder and opening fire, the deep throaty chatter of the weapon underscoring the communication band.

"We're getting somewhere sir! He's definitely feeling it!" Bulwark Lieutenant Cole Boyen added.

"I DON'T GIVE REQUESTS! I GIVE ORDERS! FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"

Roger heard _it _over the communication band as well, the dark, vicious chuckle. What he didn't see, unlike the twin CESTUS units, was the Lord looking back from the jerk the blast to his face had caused. Half of said face was gone, black smoke rising off an equally obsidian skull, smoke shooting through his exposed teeth.

"Heh heh heh heh…oh, I never tire of this mistake…" The Lord said, as he slowly waved a hand over his face, the damage vanishing like the Lord was wiping it away. He snapped his fingers, as his staff flew up and vanished into the clouds above. "Try again?"

"YOU LOUSY…!" Sean yelled as he charged in, swinging a fist.

"SEAN DON'T…!"

Sean's armored robot fist slammed into the Lord's outstretched finger, stopping the combat suit dead in its tracks.

A moment later, black lines began shooting across his power suit.

"You've heard of the death of a thousand cuts?" The Lord said. "That number's too small for me."

* * *

What happened next made Roger glad he _didn__'__t _have visual on all CESTUS units. He was certain that the noises Sean made as the Lord retaliated would haunt his nightmares the rest of his life. The only blessing was the Lord was so absorbed in Sean's demise that Cole was able to retreat.

"…damn it. If O'Reilley was going to get himself killed, he could have done it without costing us that suit…" Roger said as he briefly studied the floor. "…report! Is it ready yet?"

"Almost sir!"

"ALMOST ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!"

"Sir, the enemy isn't getting in but it's not relenting either! We only have so much ammo!" Another Bulwark agent reported.

"What is our current altitude?"

"One thousand feet sir!"

"Let's get some elbow room. All units, fall back to a safe distance. We're doing a Peregrine Gambit."

"Sir, we've never done it under combat conditions before!"

"Then it's time to test it."

* * *

"Feh." The Lord said, looking at the piece of CESTUS armor he held, blood and worse covering the robotic battle suit chunk. "What a wretched excuse for combat attire. My aid excretes better blueprints than this."

KER-BLAM!

"WHO SAID I GAVE THOSE BASTARDS MY BEST!?" Peregrine roared, as he aimed the right arm of the three-times-larger-than-the-normal-model Mark IV CESTUS at the Lord and introduced him to a stream of missiles, the Lord vanishing in the explosion.

"Oh no! I know you won't be finished by that!" Peregrine said, several pods launching off his mech suit and positioning themselves around the fading smoke cloud. They fired an interlocking burst of plasma rays at the figure within, and it was consumed in another explosion.

"And now, let me show you the GRAVITY of your mockery!" Peregrine yelled, aiming his suit's other arm. This time, he fired several spinning discs that whirled around, forming a larger grid work around the second smoke cloud.

A burst of wind blew the cloud away.

Peregrine activated the momentum discs, and the personal gravity within their sphere of influence, which centered on the Lord, abruptly shifted rapidly several different ways. At once.

The end result was the Lord abruptly being ripped to pieces, his remains scattering across the sky.

"There!" Peregrine snorted, watching the pieces drift away. "Was that really so hard? Perhaps…who but I could devise such a weapon?"

"_Weapon__…__?__"_

If Peregrine had not known beforehand Ermine Chalk had a range for her telepathic jamming, he did now, as the torn pieces of the Lord flowed back together and reformed, the shadow god raising his hands and slowly beginning to clap.

"Bravo. What a marvelous success. So well done…just like everything you ever did. Stealing from your company. Being a successful rogue. Even your teaching, hah…Robert Candide. So many plans, all failures…and I kill him without even trying. So tell me birdbrain, just _what are you in the end?_"

Peregrine glowered at the Lord.

"A man like you. Sorely let down by reality."

"Ah, not bad. But one thing." The Lord said. _**"**__**I AM NO MAN.**__**"**_

"No, just a Tolkien thief!" Peregrine yelled, slamming his hands together, his robot limbs locking and merging and expanding into a new firearm, as he fired a giant plasma blast at the Lord.

The Lord held up one finger, vertically. The blast split on the digit, going to either side of him and vanishing into the distance.

"Heh…heh heh heh." The Lord said, as he turned his hand around, black power crackling on it, as Peregrine watched the numbers on his scanning device rise to 4800 and beyond. " Ha ha ha HA HA…spears shall be shaken! Shields shall be splintered! A sore day, a red day, 'ere the sun rises! Ride now! RIDE NOW! RIDE! RIDE TO RUIN, AND THE WORLD'S ENDING! DEATH! _**DEA-!**__**"

* * *

**_"Peregrine Gambit initiated."

* * *

The Lord's stolen words were abruptly cut off as the _Achilles_ abruptly and briefly shifted the massive anti-gravity engines keeping them aloft from a combined downward thrust to all directions.

It cost them half their height and left them dead in the water as their engines locked up from the strain. It also sent a massive wave of force shooting from all directions, blowing away and apart all of the attacking Abhorred, smashing into and breaking vital systems in Peregrine's suit as he plummeted towards the ground, and sending the Lord flying heads over heels backwards through the sky and into the distance.

"CURSE MY BRILLIANT BACKUP PLAN!" Peregrine bellowed as he plummeted into the ruins of Metropolis. He'd built his suit too well to be killed or injured in the impact…but it was no longer combat capable at any level that would be effective. Plus he'd never gotten a last word in. Damn it all.

* * *

"Ugghhhhh…well that was interesting." The Lord said as he recovered. He floated there, looking at one of his hands for a moment. Roger Candide had no idea what he was doing: he seemed to be contemplating something. Considering what atrocities the shadow god had been able to inflict off the top of his head, Roger really didn't want to let him to get a chance to think.

"Weapon charged! Target locked sir!" The Bulwark gunner said.

"Then I want it fired FIVE MINUTES AGO!"

"Projectile armed."

And in the guns of the _Achilles__'_ main gun, the massive length of metal, the size of a nuclear submarine, dropped down into the cannon, as the electromagnetic engines seized it and prepared to fire it at supersonic speeds.

"…hmmmm…mustn't forget that consideration…they may be doomed…" The Lord said, as he looked up at the _Achilles _again. "…yet they're so stubborn about it…"

"Launch."

"Laugh THIS off, Ubermensch." Roger said.

The projectile fired.

It crossed the distance between the two foes in the blink of an eye.

The Lord cocked his head.

The metal rod stopped dead, one foot from the Lord's black eyes. He hadn't even raised a hand.

"…dear mother of god." The gunner whispered. Roger had no words.

"…ha." The Lord said. "Ha."

Then he backhanded the projectile away, blackness racing up the length of the bullet before it exploded into drifting rust, instigated at a touch as the Lord turned his eyes on the _Achilles _once more.

"Death." The Lord finished, as he raised up a finger again, pointing at the sky.

A black sphere appeared above the finger, and rapidly began to expand, growing larger and larger with every second.

"You should have taken a knee." The Lord said, as his orb of death stopped at the size of an SUV. "Now I'll take everything else."

"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" Roger yelled.

"We can't move sir!" A Bulwark agent yelled back, even as the various other men and women inside the bridge furiously tried to prove that a lie.

"THEN FIRE! FIRE EVERYTHING WE HAVE! FIRE…SHOOT…WE…!"

The ball shrank down, falling into the Lord's palm as he cocked back his arm.

"…hold that."

The Lord hurled his sphere of destruction.

Even as the sword of fire slashed down and cleaved the Lord's arm right off.

The orb went wild, spinning off its chosen path and flying wide of the _Achilles_…which lurched and nearly fell apart anyway when the orb exploded and buffeted the skyship with horrendous shockwaves of force. The Lord didn't even notice, for obvious reasons, as he turned to face his attacker with a confused expression.

Before the fiery blade plunged into his chest, its burning tip exploding out the Lord's back.

"…We might hit a friendly." Roger Candide said as he lifted himself off the ground again.

"…sir, did we just get saved by an ANGEL?" Ermine Chalk said incredulously.

"Remind me to send the Pope a gift basket." Roger replied. "Now look alive! We're not getting paid to gawp!"

* * *

"…angel…" The Lord hissed, as he looked at his attacker: Zauriel, of the Eagle Host of the Pax Dei, who was, as far as people knew, exactly what the Lord and Chalk had identified him as.

"Blasphemer." Zauriel said, twisting his blade, the holy flame hissing as it burned into the Lord's form. Though he tried to keep a firm visage, it was quite clear said fire was as agonizing to the Lord as sunlight was, and unlike Prime's power, he couldn't quite shrug it off and work through it.

"…very…nice effort, angel…but I am more…FAR MORE…than your accusation…" The Lord said, as he reached up with his free arm and seized the burning blade. Zauriel redoubled his efforts, driving the sword further into the Lord…before the Lord began to push back, slowly dragging the sword out of his chest.

"I…am void. I am fury. I see all of the world, and lay waste…to what does not belong…!" The Lord said as he yanked the weapon out of him, albeit snarling his words through his teeth as he did so. "And if your…PRESENCE has an objection to that…he granted free will, and HE SHOULD KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES."

The Lord's severed arm reformed, the shadow god seizing Zauriel's flaming sword with the re-grown hand as he twisted his own arm, breaking the holy weapon in half with a dull snap. If anyone had been nearby to hear it, they might have likened the noise to a baby's disappointed whine.

"Such as making your so-called divine weapon abide by the rules of magic of this world, no matter what the state of it." The Lord said, tossed the broken shard away. "Said state due to his own servant, at that. What bitter irony. So much his stock in trade."

Zauriel had no reply.

"So what now angel?" The Lord continued, disliking the silence. "Will you offer me forgiveness? Or am I to be smited for my sins? The sins he is just as responsible for? Where was his grace for ME?"

"…he still loves you." Zauriel said quietly. For a reason that would likely be clear to many people besides the Lord, Zauriel's reply aggravated him even more than his silence had.

"I neither want not desire whatever HE has to offer. And if that means you will stand against me, I would say he has poorly equipped you to do so."

For a moment, the pity in Zauriel's eyes was clear.

Then he flew back and screamed. The Lord took the attack full force, as Zauriel unleashed his sonic flash ability, the Lord was blown backwards again from the vociferation assault. The attack went beyond the auditory, the heaven-granted gift actually striking at the Lord's 'vibrational frequency', his body thrashing and beginning to break apart…

Unfortunately, the process didn't finish before the scream ended, Zauriel unable to keep it up for long. The curse of wearing mortal flesh, as he watched the damage he'd inflicted begin to fade.

"…Or maybe your futility is all your own." The Lord said, as he pulled himself back together, his eyes flashing with retaliatory madness. "Like loving a mortal. Like protecting the worthless trash that makes us this world."

The Lord said held out a hand, black power crackling on it.

"My advice, angel, is once you return to your master, don't come back. This world has no more place for you."

"Nor for you." Zauriel replied quietly.

"I beg to differ." The Lord said, and fired.

Zauriel dashed to the side, his wings carrying him away from the attack.

The same wings that had obscured the metahumans who had come up behind him to join Zauriel's assault on the master of the Abhorred.

"…oh." The Lord said.

Mary Marvel hit the Lord so hard the clouds above her parted from the shockwave, and as the Lord tumbled backwards from the blow her backup joined the fray, heroes and villains alike uniting against their common enemy.

"SHOOT HIM!" Firehawk screamed, as she and regularly-Green Lantern enemy Effigy hit the Lord's recovering form with a massive blast of flame, the heat so intense some of the warriors in the battle below felt it.

"Haley? Have you returned to plague me…ah no." The Lord said.

The second blow came down on him like a wrathful god, as Looker, Striker Z, Sparx, Breach and the villainous Typhoon combined their telekinesis, shock cannons, lightning blast, mysterious destructive energy, and wind blast into one massive attack that sent the Lord plummeting towards the ground.

"Get him Zauriel! I'll charge up your sword!" Firehawk yelled.

"I'll soften him up!" Mary Marvel added as she flew down after the Lord, ramming into his chest and firing repeated punches into his face.

"Wait children, he…!"

Too late. Too late by far, as the Lord rammed his hands into Mary Marvel's sternum.

"Angels and ministers of grace." The Lord said. "FALL WITH ME!"

The Lord blasted Mary Marvel back into the sky with a gigantic black blast, the backlash of his own attack sending him smashing into the ground like a meteor, even as it sent Mary straight into the seething storm clouds above Metropolis…

Where the blast abruptly shattered, sending a gigantic spray of black spears across the sky.

"INCOMI-AUGH!" Firehawk screamed as she was struck by the spear and consumed by its detonation, as the 'Ministers of Grace' tried to block or avoid the attack and found the range was too great, as explosions ripped across the violent sky of Metropolis.

* * *

"…report…" Roger Candide said quietly, as the destruction the Lord had unleashed faded away.

"Sir, fighters have taken 90% losses, and only 5% are still battle worthy. The CESTUS suits are holding together better: they've taken 30% casualties. One of the _Hector_'s has been forced to make an emergency landing but the crew on board survived. And those heroes that just attacked the Lord of the Night sir…two dead."

Roger could see that fact, as Looker held the shattered body of Striker Z in her arms. Typhoon did not get the honor, as the Lord's attack had literally blown him into pieces too small to hold.

"…the worst part is, they just gave their lives for the world, and people will probably have to look them up on Wikipedia when they read the casualty list."

"…orders sir."

"Engine status?"

"We're at 25%. We've never done a Peregrine Gambit right before firing the main gun. Apparently the reactor isn't fond of it. AAA guns are at 25% ammo."

"So basically, except the main gun, we're at 25%?"

"Yessir. And that can't fire for another two minutes at least."

"Great. Half speed ahead. Get engineering working on whatever they can fix. Get that main gun ready to fire ASAP. And send someone to find Peregrine; the drive is his monster and we could probably use some help fixing it. And keep an eye on the spot where the Lord went down! No way it hell he isn't still out there!"

"Sir…" Another Bulwark agent said. "I think we may have something else…"

* * *

"…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" Emily Briggs, aka Looker said. She did not know Danny Tsang, aka Striker Z, but her mind was immensely potent, commanding the whole range of mental abilities that existed. Her telepathy had helped coordinate the attack on the Lord, and she'd picked up faint traces of her allies in the process, including Tsang's deep fear. He had never really wanted to be a hero, just famous. In the end, he'd risen to the occasion regardless…and paid the ultimate price.

Quite possibly for nothing.

Because Looker could feel it, like someone drawing a dagger of ice across her mind. The enemy, this 'Lord' was still alive.

"…he's down there." Looker told Firehawk, who seemed to have taken the Lord's assault the best and was rarin' to go: Mary Marvel and Zauriel had taken the worst of the attack, Breach and Sparx had also received nasty shots, and Effigy looked like he wanted to run and hide before tangling with the Lord again. With her own look of rage, Firehawk streaked down to the ground, even as Looker sent out a general telepathy warning of the Lord's presence.

She did not know if she was helping people or sending more to their deaths.

She _did _know enough to know no matter what she did, the situation hadn't gotten so bad it couldn't get worse.

* * *

Agent Liberty hadn't had the easiest life, but he knew that when it came down to a situation where you were fighting an enemy that bullets didn't even seem to _bother_, then things had REALLY gone FUBAR. He emptied his gun into the attacking Abhorred anyway, and when that didn't stop it, he blocked its axe attack with an energy shield on his arm before reforming the malleable power and slicing his attacker in half.

Which just left six or so Abhorred to deal with.

"All right…who's…"

The blast of fire from the sky obliterated his foes. Agent Liberty blinked. as Firehawk dropped down and fired another blast of flame, taking out two more Abhorred. Her actions seemed to inspire, as other heroes and villains around them went from just fending off their own attackers to standing their ground and pushing back.

This continued for several seconds, before the Abhorred were suddenly gone, like they'd vanished on the wind. Firehawk was savvy enough to know she hadn't caused THAT much inspiration.

"Stay sharp! The guy who's doing all this is around!" Firehawk said, as Breach and Sparx dropped down to join her.

"Who put YOU in charge?" The villainous Lock-Up snapped.

"Save it Bolton. Now's not the time." Came a voice, as John Henry Irons, aka Steel, emerged from some dust with his niece Natasha and the original Doom Patrol. "Considering how hard to smash these blasted shadow things already are…"

"He's here." The hero Argus said, jerking his head around. "My visor's suddenly reading anomalies all over the place…"

A black blade of shadow shot from some rubble: Argus didn't even get another word out before he was impaled through the head. The blade yanked itself free as the heroes and villains recoiled, even as Argus collapsed, dead.

"JESUS CHRIST!" Steel yelled.

"GET THE BASTARD!" Firehawk screamed, shooting a blast of flame at the rubble, even as several other heroes fired their own attacks or weapons after it.

"Did we get him?" Someone asked when the attack stopped.

The ground went black beneath the super heroine Jolt, and she barely had time to gasp before hands reached up and seized her.

"AH! HELP! HELLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPP!" Jolt screamed, her gravimagnetic force field seemingly not protecting her as she was dragged under, even as the new Shining Knight, Bulleteer, and Nastasha Irons ran to try and save her. "NO! PLEASE! I JUST GOT HOME I DON'T WANNA DIE HELP PLLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEE..!!!!!!!"

Jolt disappeared under the consuming shadow, as Natasha seized her arm and tried to yank her out.

All she got _was _Jolt's arm. She utter a groaning gasp, dropping the limb as she fought to keep her gorge down.

"Oh god…" Bulleteer said, before everyone's attention was drawn by a horrifically wet noise nearby.

A moment later something came flying out of the shadows, bouncing along the ground before stopping near the grouped metas.

Jolt's head gazed with eternally terrified eyes at them. No postmortem technician would ever be able to erase the expression that had been locked in rictus on her face.

"The forces of white." The Lord said, emerging from the shadows. "So pure, so driven…so unaware of the consequences of their road. So pathetic in its end."

"GET-!"

"**QUIET.****"** The Lord snarled, slashing out a finger as a black glyph briefly appeared in the air. All the gathered warriors before the Lord suddenly found themselves moving in 'universal quicksand', unable to act or speak at anything but a crawl.

The Lord paused for a moment, touching his chest, a trace of black power coming from his torso to his fingers as he once again examined his hand. Blasted angel. Blasted 'ministers of grace'. He'd pay them back, them and anyone else who joined their ranks. Ten, a hundred, a thousand fold. Their suffering would be legendary in every afterlife he sent them to.

"I could make you the offer to run. To beg for mercy. To do the intelligent thing and let me claim this world before the waste you guard poisons it beyond repair. But your kind never listens. Such is who you are. The heroes. The shining beacons. The _white_." The Lord said, his eyes briefly flashing with dark rage before they resumed their normal tactical coldness.

The Lord raised one hand, forming his massive bastard sword-esque blade, before raising the other and forming cruel claws in turn. His cloaks shifted, as twin undefined limbs slid out from his body, each ending in curved blades, even as more shadow emerged from his back and formed into two more hands, each holding its own giant sword.

"…black am I. Black is the judgment I bring to bear on you."

The time dilution spell ended, as the Lord looked at his enemies with savage challenge in his eyes.

"Come heroes. I AM YOUR DEATH."

It quickly became obvious why the Lord had used his chrono-altering spell.

If he'd left it up to the heroes, they would have attacked him before he'd gotten four words in.

* * *

"This day could have gone better…" Prometheus mused to himself as his supercharged nightstick smashed apart an Abhorred. While the Lord's warrior-clones may have lessened the attack on BULWARK and had left the heroes attacking the Lord himself completely alone, they had redoubled their efforts on the remaining heroes and villains.

Some of whom still hadn't quite grasped that they should reconcile.

"My friends, listen closely." J'onn mentally said, having lost Dr. Psycho long enough when Abhorred had attacked both of them. "These creatures…"

Twin stabbing blades impaled themselves through J'onn's torso: he grunted in pain and blew the Abhorred away with Martian vision, grimacing as the wounds closed up. It wasn't fire, but it wasn't pleasant either. Even metas with 'invulnerability degrees' were 'reporting' that the attacks made by the Abhorred left burning marks on their bodies, which couldn't be considered a good thing under any circumstances.

"These creatures…they are vulnerable to AUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHH!" J'onn screamed, as his mind was suddenly assaulted by violent mental waves once more.

"Now now, it's no fun when you run away in mid-death." Dr. Psycho said drolly, strolling out from behind a corner, hands in the pockets of his suit and an amused look on his face.

"Psycho…don't be a fool…this battle is getting out of control, this cannot…!"

"Oh J'onn. I started the party. Hardly fair I decide where it goes." Dr. Psycho said. "I rather like it! Talk about painting the town red!"

"…if that's how you respond to _reason__…_" J'onn growled, as he renewed his mental war with Dr. Psycho, agony drifting in his heart that he was forced to stalemate with this lunatic's sadism instead of helping his friends.

The pain made Dr. Psycho giggle. The laughter faded when he realized that while it was difficult to rile J'onn, it was also an exceptionally poor idea.

"Thought you gave up on the bows kid." Green Arrow said to Arsenal, as the pair stood back to back and fired arrows into every single attacking Abhorred they could.

"This was going to be a war Olly. I came loaded for bear, not for old grudges." Arsenal replied, as he fired a shock arrow into a scythe-wielding Abhorred.

"Ha. Just like old times, isn't it?"

"We're not putting the band back together old man. If only because you'll poach all my dates." Arsenal said, though his tone was of grim good humor instead of bitterness.

"Actually Roy…I've been thinking…"

"Oh god are you coming out? Why does everyone always come out to ME!?"

"When this is over kid I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Like you could!" Arsenal retorted, as the arrows continued to fly.

"WHAT IS THIS FATUITY!!!!" Black Adam roared, as he punched apart three Abhorred and kicked the head off of another one. "THERE WILL BE DIRE CONSEQUENCES FOR-GAUUGGGHHHH!"

A blast of shadow had caught Black Adam on the side of the head, and as he recoiled a mass of Abhorred dog piled on him, slashing and stabbing…

Before they were hurled off with another scream, as Black Adam scattered his foes and then brought his battle rage to bear on them, tearing apart the constructs as fast as they could emerge, ignoring the pain of their weapons, refusing to feel anything except the fury that drove him.

"Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang…" Onomatopoeia said in his eternal verbal tic, as he blew apart every Abhorred he could see with his twin guns. For a moment, the Crimson Avenger contemplated putting a bullet in HIS head, and then decided for the moment four guns were better than two.

* * *

"Report in! Is anyone even…DAMN IT!" Alexander Luthor said, blowing away an attacking Abhorred with a positive energy blast. If there was any blessing, it was that few of the shadow creatures were going after him. Alexander didn't know if that was because of fortune or if the Lord was purposely toying with him by making him watch the Lord tear down Alexander's plan around his ears.

"This is Crazy Quilt! Uh, everything's going straight…to hell…auugggh, these things are everywhere…!"

"Cluster! Don't get surrounded by them! If you have or know anyone who has UV manifestation talents, use them! The creatures can't stand UV radiation!"

"What's UV radi…oh no! GET AWAY! GET-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWIIIIIIIAAAA….!"

Alexander cut off the communicator and the terrible fate that had befallen Crazy Quilt, as he opened up another. "Report in!"

"Yee haw! This is the Duke of Oil! One hell of a party you throw pardner! All I have to do is stomp a mudhole in Green Arrow's guts and my day will be complete!"

Alexander stared at his World View, and for a moment wondered if he should have instigated stricter recruitment standards for his Society.

* * *

"I'm gonna ride this filly until…!" The Duke of Oil continued…before his head went flying off as an Abhorred sliced it off with a glaive.

"Thank YOU." Giganta said, as she prompted stomped on the Abhorred, grinding it beneath her massive foot. A nearby Mr. Freeze froze some Abhorred with his gun, even as the Gentleman Ghost fired away at others with flintlock pistols. Said pistols didn't seem to do much, as an Abhorred slashed a sword through the Gentleman Ghost. Quite literally: the weapon passed _through _him, though he made a hissing noise that indicated some sort of pain was felt. He promptly dematerialized his flintlocks and produced a cane he bashed over the Abhorred's head, a blast of blue fire blowing its upper half apart.

"More coming! RUN!" Siren yelled, as she fled down the street with Punch and Jewelee, Mr. Terrible, and Count Vertigo, a swarm of Abhorred on their tails.

"Werner! Use your powers on them!' Giganta ordered as she picked up a hunk of rubble and hurled it at the Abhorred.

"I CAN'T! THEY DON'T WORK!" Count Vertigo yelled back, as he leapt over a car…

Where an Abhorred surged up, ramming a sword into his stomach.

"…guh." Count Vertigo said. "Colder than…I believed…"

Giganta cursed as Vertigo collapsed, even as she got some air support when Flash rogue Abra Kadabra appeared and began firing bolts of golden energy at the Abhorred, blowing them apart…

In the few seconds he got before he was abruptly plummeting from the sky. Giganta blinked, wondering if the magician had been sneak-attacked, and then suddenly she found her balance completely gone as well. She stumbled and fell, crashing down onto a wrecked building, her massive form finishing the job the battle had started even as her gorge rose in the process; What the hell…!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Mr. Freeze yelled, as Count Vertigo turned his now obsidian eyes on the ice-master. He had no reply, as Freeze abruptly found his own equilibrium under assault as well, his suit helping him somewhat but not enough.

If he'd had enough observation to spare, he would have noticed the Abhorred that had delivered the mortal wound to Count Vertigo was now nowhere to be found.

* * *

"You should have carried more clips!" Athena Jones cursed, finding herself lacking any offensive ability against the Abhorred once the gun she had borrowed from the Manhattan Guardian ran out of bullets.

"Sorry, not really fond of firearms any more." The Manhattan Guardian replied, as he blocked a spear stab and bashed the attacker away with his shield before a Metamorpho hammer arm flattened the Abhorred, while Faith and Angle Man ripped apart their own enemies with their respective talents.

"How many more of these things are there?!" Ragman yelled, his gigantic magical cloaks forming into their own spears and stabbing out, impaling through two more Abhorred. "Ugh, it's like sticking your whole body into cold putrid tissue!"

"Didn't need to know that." Faith said, as she blasted more Abhorred with her telekinesis.

"Can anyone see if they're still coming down from the sky? Maybe if…!" Athena began.

The form lunged from the Abhorred, smashing into the Manhattan Guardian and raining down blows on his shield while he yelled in surprise. Athena's eyes went wide at the sudden attack, and even wider when she saw who was attacking.

"Old Paragon?"

The first Paragon jerked her head towards Athena, a stream of bloody foam issuing from one corner of her mouth and her eyes now as black as pitch, as the Manhattan Guardian took the chance to bash her off him, rolling free as the first Paragon rolled in turn and leapt back up in predatory insect fashion.

"God damn all zombies!" Athena yelled, before pausing for a moment, even as Paragon Classic attacked Faith to be blown away by a telekinetic bolt. "Well, I guess that's redundant…"

"Not a zombie!" Ragman said as he fended off more Abhorred, which were still coming. "It's one of THESE things! In her body, animating her corpse!"

"…I think I'm going to need a bigger gun." Athena said.

"Young lady, I don't think there's a firearm in the world that can solve this problem." The Angle Man said, and then more Abhorred attacked.

* * *

"Man, these big-time super villain groups sure now how to throw a party!" Static said, bringing down a storm of electrical bolts on the Abhorred. "Huh, sense of déjà vu…"

"We went through this before? And we agreed to do it again? We need to fire our agents!" Gear yelled, trying and failing to make a joke as he sprayed his own Abhorred with a sealant of his own design, his 'Gear-Crete'. The shadow beings twisted and slipped free of the epoxy before it could harden, and Gear was forced to throw another concussion bomb to try and fend them off.

"I'm not doing so hot here buddy! These things are Amish-like! Because they…tech doesn't…I really…where was I going…?"

"Save it Gear!" Static replied as he zipped over and blew apart the Abhorred that Gear himself could not disable. "Maybe we should make tracks, it's not going so well here!"

"Not sure where to go!" Gear said, as he and his main computer unit Back-Pack began scanning the area. "Hey…the clouds. These things are coming from the clouds. Static, you think you could fly up there, maybe disrupt their…dropping…habit…?"

"I don't know if I can do that, and I really don't want to fly up there to try!" Static said. "Maybe we should…"

A dull thud sounded beneath the pair.

"You hear that?" Static said.

Captain Marvel Jr burst out from beneath the ground, flying up and clutching his head, trying to blink dust out of his eyes.

"…I thought you cape guys came from above, not below." Gear said.

"The Titans, they were buried, have to-GACCCCCCCKKK!" Captain Marvel Jr yelled as Abhorred came flying at him, one shadow creature swinging a barbed whip while the other thrust at him with clawed hands. Marvel Jr punched one, and then yelled as the whip lashed across his skin, leaving a burning line of pain…

Static promptly blew it out of the air with a an electrical ball attack.

"What's going on?" Captain Marvel Jr said.

"We got bad news and worse news. The bad news is whoever beat us here made a shadow army. The worse news is they laugh at just about everything you do to 'em." Static said.

"And he means that literally. And I think one of them said something about my mother."

Static gave Gear a look.

"Okay okay, no time for jokes."

"What? How did…the Lord…The Titans, we…"

"Better save it buddy!" Static yelled as more Abhorred fell from the sky. Static surged forward in turn, blasting multiple electrical arcs, as Captain Marvel Jr finished clearing his eyes and came to Static's aid, punching and kicking, while Gear tossed more of his concussion grenades…

Moments before an Abhorred surged up from the ground behind Static, a kris dagger in its hands.

"VIRGIL!" Gear screamed.

A blast of water blew the Abhorred out of the air even as Static turned around.

"Dude! Codenames!" Static said.

"You're lucky sound doesn't travel as well up here as it does in water." Aqualad said as he limped up. "What was it, Staticclinge or something…?"

"Static. Static Shock. Nice to know Aquaman taught you manners. Just in case, that's Gear, that's Captain Emergency Backup Marvel, and that's INCOMING!" Static yelled as more Abhorred charged in, forcing the odd group back into combat for several more seconds.

"Marvel JUNIOR." Captain Marvel Jr said when it was over.

"Hey, you keep fightin' that well and I'll call you Superman if you want."

"…yeah. I'm sorry about the name, the Titans, this whole place just broke apart and fell, I lost track of everything, nearly got buried alive…we have to help them, we…" Aqualad said.

"Here come more!" Gear yelled, pointing…

A spray of arrows followed his point, as the three Abhorred were dropped in a burst of explosions.

"We didn't all get buried Zen." Speedy II said, approaching with Speedy III.

"Thanks, Girl Speedy and Guy Smiley. Speedy." Static corrected. Speedy II didn't reply.

"We have to get the Titans…" Aqualad said.

"Hey, don't panic yet Aqualad. They have Terra. She's an annoying twit, but she knows her earth stuff. She probably kept them safe enough to…" Speedy II said.

Another impact tremor sounded beneath the teen heroes' feet.

"That might be them n-"

The ground erupted in an explosion of stone and shrapnel…and a furious blood-chilling bellow, as Doomsday ripped himself up from his latest grave and smashed down onto the shattered rock, sending ripping cracks across the battleground.

"NO ONE MENTIONED HIM! SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED HIM!" Static hissed through clenched teeth.

"…maybe if we're real quiet, they'll fight each other?" Gear said.

"RAAAAAAAAAUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Doomsday bellowed as he charged at the teenagers.

"SO MUCH FOR THAT!"

Doomsday's fist smashed down onto the ground, sending a storm of rock shards flying into the air as the teenage heroes scattered. Captain Marvel Jr flew in to attack and was effortlessly batted aside, as both Speedys fired arrows and Static fired a gigantic blast of electricity at Doomsday. It did nothing, as Doomsday bellowed once more, pulled his hand free, and charged as the teenage heroes scattered again.

Doomsday charged right through one side of a damaged building, and the whole structure came down in a massive eruption of dust and smoke. Coughing, Static tried to clear his vision and locate his friends.

"Guys? GUYS!" Static said, floating through the dust. "You all right? I really don't want to attract that guy's attention again, and this damn dust is already giving me chapped lips…"

A shadowy form appeared in the dust. After a moment, Static recognized the distinct shape of Gear's Back-Pack.

"Gear! See, you need to remember code names in…" Static said as he flew in.

Before stopping dead, his eyes going wide…as Gear's body crumbled onto the ground, the Abhorred holding a bloody kodachi in its hand. It looked at Static with nonexistent eyes.

"…no…." Static whispered.

Had Virgil Hawkins had a few more seconds, he would have called down a lightning bolt that could have rivaled Zeus himself in his fury, but he didn't.

The Abhorred surged down first, phasing into Gear's body. It jerked, briefly thrashing like an epileptic, and then it rose to its feet in a jagged, boneless fashion. Static stared in horror at his best friend, struck down and now risen once more as something else entirely.

"…ashes to ashes…dust to dust…" 'Gear' said, and then let out a mad cackle. "No one gets out alive."

"…sorry, bro." Static whispered, electricity erupting on his hand.

'Gear' blasted towards at Static in turn, laughing madly all the way.

* * *

_**So it falls, heroes.**_

_**The darkness you tolerated has arrived.**_

_**And so has your end.**_


	15. The Dark Age: Paint It Black

The Dark Age: Paint It Black

Once, long ago, John Henry Irons had taken up his hammer and armor to defend his corner of the world. Circumstances had arranged it so no one else could seemingly protect his part of Metropolis, so Irons had done it himself. It had been the start of a long twisted road, one that had seen him nearly lose his life and his soul. In the end, he had retired, passing his name and armor down to his niece.

He shown have known better. In a way, he did. No hero ever retired for good, and as Metropolis had come under siege once more, Irons had donned the armor he'd kept aside once more and gone out to do his duty.

A fragment of Churchill echoed in his head: _Men will say, __'__this was their finest hour__'_…

Perhaps their blackest as well, as the Lord leapt backwards in a whirling dervish of death, knocking away Breach and Firehawk before landing on a piece of rubble and leaping backwards again. A circle of black energy blasts appeared around him, spinning briefly as the Lord leapt backwards once more, slashing out with his sword: the blasts went flying up and swiftly came crashing down, exploding across the ground and sending heroes and villains flying.

Steel rode it out: he also remembered another fragment of World War II. Fighting a war on two fronts was suicide. And this battle has a lot more than two fronts, as more heroes leapt to attack the Lord.

Bulleteer flew in, metal fists at the ready, but the Lord saw her coming and met her with a whirling blade. The cruel cutting weapon spun like a cuisinart, as he slammed it into her and sent her flying away in a spray of shredded costume and smartskin. Not learning from her example, the villain Torpedo Man also flew in afterward…and met the other spinning blade, which reduced him to bloody scrap metal.

"Idiots." The Lord said, actually taking a moment to wipe blood from his face.

Bad move, as Steel made his own with Nastasha, the two of them flying in from each side and hurling their hammers in perfect synchronization. The hammers smashed into the Lord's upper set of arms, snapping the hands right off and cutting off the two whirring blades above him. The twin hammers electronically returned to their wielders, and both Steels charged in, pistoning their weapons to crush the Lord's head between them.

Too slowly, as he blurred away. Unfortunately, it was not to retreat.

"And you're not exempt!" The Lord said, as he grabbed both hammers. Before the two armored heroes could react, the Lord countered, sending blasts of dark energy crackling down the weapons and into their armors, the power surging through them and scrambling their systems. The process not only hurt like hell, it also had the downside of locking their hands onto their weapons, as the Lord yanked up the hammers and lashed down, smashing both Steels into the ground with a bone-breaking impact, twin small craters left in the ground from the attack.

"Worthless…" The Lord said, raising a hand to finish the job.

"BACK OFF ASSHOLE!" Loose Cannon yelled as he slammed into the Lord, the seven-foot purple skinned giant and the Lord tumbling briefly along the ground before Loose Cannon took the blast the Lord had intended for the Steels. Said blast blew Loose Cannon into a pile of rubble, even as the Lord flipped and lanced up and off of the ground, showing a terrifying awareness of his surroundings as he went smashing into the giant Elast-Girl's sternum, sending her staggering back and collapsing onto the shattered streets of Metropolis.

"RITA!" Negative Man yelled, dropping down near her from another piece of rubble. His only response was a groan, as the Lord flew back into the air. Negative Man looked briefly at his fallen long-time companion, and then with an angry growl, he met him there, focusing and letting loose his 'negative soul'. The black energy being flew out and rammed into the Lord, his radioactive fingers wrapping around the Lord's throat even as he twisted his malleable body around him like an irradiated anaconda. "BURN!"

"There's no fire…you could ever…HOPE TO MUSTER…" The Lord snarled, though he clearly wasn't ignoring Negative Man's crushing wrap; wisps of smoke were rising from his body, even as the shadow god began slashing at the 'soul-being' with his weapons and found they didn't work very well. "Get off!"

"No!"

"GET OFF!"

"NEVER!"

"I SAID GET OFF!" The Lord bellowed as he emitted a gigantic pulse of black energy that blew Negative Man's soul-form right off of him, the ragged pieces retreating to Larry Trainer's body. The Lord growled to himself, and then slashed out with his clawed arms, sending a spraying of cutting black blades after the entity.

"NO!" Robotman said, getting in the way of the attack. One blade sliced his arm off, while the other took off a chunk of his head, but he successfully protected his teammate's softer form.

He didn't protect Lock-Up, who took a blade to the chest and was cleaved clean in half. Though if asked, Cliff Steel would have likely told the person he didn't give a damn.

"Who's next?" The Lord said.

Mary Marvel prompt axe-handled the Lord right into the ground.

"Oh, you. Back for more you…?" The Lord said as he began getting up.

Firehawk returned as well, sending another spear of flame into the Lord's body as he was driven backwards. He snarled and retaliated with his own spear of dark energy, blowing Firehawk backwards into Mary Marvel through another wrecked building.

The Lord had a moment to briefly glance at his hand again before a staff smashed over his head.

"Here come the DNAngels punk-ass!" The black female staff wielder yelled, as an Asian girl blazed up to the Lord with non-Speed Force superspeed and hit him with a combined superstrong/telekinetic blow that floored the shadow god, sending him backwards into the kick of a short-haired blonde girl. The Lord flew through the air some more from the kick before smashing through some rubble, even as the black girl hurled her staff after him; he recovered from the previous blows just in time for it to nail him right between the eyes. The weapon bounced off, as The Lord went staggering back again.

"Ah, I think I…" The Lord said, before a combined telekinesis attack took him completely off his feet and then pancaked him into the ground in a quick one-two shot. "Yes, those are definitely Kon-El's genes. So you have his tactile telekinesis, do you? Well…do you have anything else?

"COME AND SEE!" The blonde-haired DNAngel yelled as the three charged in. The Lord flipped up to his feet, leaping backwards as they closed in.

"WE'LL KICK YOUR ASS!" The black one added.

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" The Asian one finished. "GIVE UP!"

"…no I won't. No you won't. No I'm not. No."

The Lord promptly stopped on a dime, slamming his hands down. An eruption of black explosions tore up the ground towards the three young heroes; now it was their turn to fly backwards, as they slammed on the brakes and retreated away from the attack…

The Lord flew up in turn; they weren't the only ones who could one-two assaults, as he thrust out his right hand. A massive spray of blasts flew from it, exploding all around the DNAngels, the three girls trying to defend themselves…

None of them saw it was coming until it was too late, as the gigantic black energy ball bloomed into existence behind them.

"WHAT THE…!?!"

"It's called dying." The Lord said, as he whirled around and snapped his fingers.

He preferred one-two-three attacks himself.

The blast consumed the DNAngels with a scream, blasting a smoke cloud into the air and blowing shrapnel and debris in all directions, the wind buffeting the Lord's cape as he stood there. A smoking blackened boot, the foot still inside, bounced past him, as he cracked his neck.

"I do hate knock offs."

"HOW ABOUT KNOCK YOUR BLOCK OFFS!" Loose Cannon roared as he returned, slamming his now-purple fist into the Lord's face and sending him staggering backwards.

"I like that just fine!" Robotman echoed, coming up from behind the staggering Lord, grabbing him by the head, and smashing him face-first into the ground.

Said ground ate the Lord's reply, which happened to be 'Very poor choice of maneuvers'.

His curved claw-blade promptly sliced off Robotman's other arm.

"Lo, Hemingway." The Lord said as he surged up, seized Robotman, and hurled him into Loose Cannon like a javelin. "If you lack the intellect to get that…"

Mary Marvel slammed into the Lord again, cutting off his comment, and the two proceeded to brawl across the shattered streets.

* * *

"Come on Hero, turn into something with solar powers!" Sparx said, as she approached the battle between the Lord and the World's Mightest Girl. Her companion, the oddly named Hero Cruz, grunted in reply. She smacked him on the shoulder in return, a family gesture from their old days on the Ravers, a lifetime ago.

"Not my decision, D.C. It's all in the spin." Hero replied, as he removed the H.E.R.O device from his belt. He also recognized the familiar feelings, in better days, on an endless party. "Okay buddy, don't let me down…"

H. E. R…

The Lord was not aware of the two: he was busy seizing Mary Marvel, swinging her up, and smashing her into the ground. A golden flash erupted near him, but he ignored that was well, spinning and hurled Mary Marvel's limp form into the air. Holding one arm out from the throw, he brought his other behind his back, charging up a blast to fire after her…

The golden energy bolt cut him off, exploding on his upper body and drawing a snarling scream as he turned to face it, along with the man with golden armor and massive projectile weapons attacked to both arms who had fired it.

"Yeah man! Time for you to mess with Gun Of A Sun!" Hero said.

For a moment, the battlefield went dead silent.

"…WHAT?" Sparx said.

"WHAT?" The Lord said.

"WHAT?" Negative Man said as he lay nearby.

"WHAT?" Breach said as he returned.

"Hey man, you try and come up with fresh names at a drop of a hat!" Hero snapped, as he aimed his namesakes at the Lord and fired again. The Lord leapt into the air to dodge, only to immediately be slammed back down into the ground as Sparx called down a lightning bolt on him. Hero promptly blasted him with more solar energy shots, yelling wordlessly all the while.

"That's right! How's it feel, you bastard? HOW'S IT FEEL! HOW'S IT FEEL!" Sparx screamed, providing the actual words.

"LOOK OUT!" Negative Man yelled.

The blade of shadow erupted from the ground, spearing into Hero's gut as he gasped in shock. Sparx screamed as the Lord slid up, the shadow tendril ripping up from under the street, as the Lord yanked Hero back towards him.

"You tell me." The Lord said to Sparx.

Never taunt the Lord.

He would go out of his way to make you eat your words.

And make them as bitter as possible.

In a flash of power, Hero exploded in the Lord's grip, blood and body parts spraying everywhere. Sparx let out a horrified wail, putting her hands to her face in sheer aghast disbelief.

"Well?" The Lord said.

Sparx screamed and raised her arms again.

The Lord just turned and snapped his fingers. Sparx was consumed by a gigantic underground explosion, her cry of agony vanishing like her silhouette.

"YOU BASTARDDDDDDDDDD….!" Breach screamed as he flew in in turn. Right into the Lord's curved blade arms, as they pinned him to a nearby piece of rubble.

"I thought that was established." The Lord said, and fired another blast that blew Breach through the rubble and into another mass of it that buried him beneath its weight.

"_Audacter calumniare, semper aliquid haeret!__"_

The use of Latin would have caught the Lord's attention regardless of the situation, as he turned around.

The blazing energy sword sliced down across his body, cutting clear through one of his curved blade arms and slicing a long wound across his chest. It was not Zauriel who had returned though, but another man in golden armor, a high tech version of Roman Centurion armor to be precise.

"Your cruelties do not impress me, infernal demonspawn! _INTERETE!_" The Alpha Centurion yelled, slashing at the Lord with his energy sword again. The Lord dodged aside this time, retaliating with his own sword. A shield of energy appearing on the Alpha Centurion's other arm blocked that blow, as the Alpha Centurion spun off the strike, ducked in, and stabbed the Lord right in the throat.

"GUH…grrrruuahh….heh heh heh heh." The Lord said, pulling back from the attack as his wound closed up. "A timelost warrior…_Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.__"_

"_Cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nini insipient is in errore perseverare.__"_ The Alpha Centurion replied.

"Touché." The Lord said, and slashed out with his curved blades. The Alpha Centurion blocked them once more. The two briefly dueled before the superior power became clear, as a combined sword/curved blade shot to the shield knocked the Alpha Centurion to the ground, leaving him wide open. An opening the Lord went straight for…

Somehow, over all the chaos of the battle, the gunshots sounded, as The Lord doubled over, knocked out of his attack and clutching his chest.

"What the devil…" The Lord said, before one last bullet flew and exploded through his head, sending him staggering to the side.

"Nice shot lady." Wild Dog said, and he, Agent Liberty, and Deadlock opened fire with their own guns. Unlike Crimson Avenger's, theirs were not magical, but the Lord was still clearly feeling the effects of them, as the ordinary bullets tore through him. The Alpha Centurion added his efforts by slashing off the other curved blade arm, even as Firehawk returned again and smashed the Lord with another spear of flame.

"GET HIM! _GET HIM!__"_ Sparx screamed, having returned from her not-quite-death as well madder then ever. She continued her own blast of lightning to the assault, as both Steels returned and shot bolts of force from their hammers, adding to the overwhelming barrage of power that was being brought to bear on the Lord's head in turn. The Lord fell to his knees, the attacks exploding on and through him. "_KILL HIM!__"_

Maybe he should have put more behind that eruption attack.

"…heh…hah…ha ha…_vita incerta__…_"

Easily fixed regardless.

Firehawk blasted another spear of flame at the Lord.

He thrust out his arm in turn, the fire flying into a crackling black orb, as the Lord spun and hurled it at the Alpha Centurion. He brought up his shield to block it.

Which was exactly what the Lord expected, as he jerked his hand up.

The orb flew up above the Alpha Centurion, completely bypassing his defenses, as the Lord swung his hand down in turn and pointed, his manipulated attack slashing down onto the Alpha Centurion in an explosion of dark fire.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Firehawk screamed in horror, as the Centurion's body crumbled, his upper half scorched to a blackened skeleton.

"_MORS CERTISSIMA!__"_ The Lord bellowed, as he thrust up his other hand. A massive magical glyph appeared beneath his feet, moments before a myriad of black orbs surged up from it, arcing black power down. A moment later the earth beneath the Lord exploded in a overwhelming spray of black, corrupted rock, an avalanche in reverse, as the Lord flew up, his power boiling and shooting through the ground.

To him, it was the looks on their faces. He thought they'd have understood that no matter how angry or determined they were, they weren't going to win.

Then again, they were heroes. He might as well have been talking to a wall.

So he'd word it stronger.

"_**VAE VICTUS!**__**"**_

The rock sprayed everywhere, slashing across the battlefield and through the heroes around it. The Steels were sent flying, their armor shattering under the assault, as Firehawk, Sparx, Breach, and Negative Man were knocked from the sky. The Crimson Avenger took a shard full to the face, her intangibility not working on the magic-cursed rock, even as another shard ripped apart Agent Liberty's knee and caused him to lose his guarded stance.

Which left him open for the follow up shard that pierced through his chest.

"…I regret…but one life…" Liberty said, and collapsed fully, dead. Wild Dog lay nearby, his own leg broken and his gun shattered to pieces, but alive.

Though apparently not for long, as the Lord floated back down. Wild Dog felt fear flood him, but the Lord didn't seem to notice the vigilante. He took the chance to crawl away, his heart cursing his brain's overwhelming urge to flee.

"You think I don't notice you?" The Lord said.

Wild Dog's chest went as cold as ice.

"You're just not worth line of sight." The Lord said, aiming towards Wild Dog even as he looked at the horizon.

Strangely, not where he should have been looking.

Another pile of rubble exploded across the battlefield, as Loose Cannon returned. No longer blue, no longer purple, his skin had gone a piercing white color. Like a hero from another universe, his power increased with rage, and he was completely out of his mind with it now, as the Lord turned to face him.

"I assume you still don't much like me." The Lord said. Loose Cannon snarled a wordless noise of rage in reply. Wild Dog wished he could help, but he knew he had no place in what was about to happen, as he began crawling away again, promising that if he survived the day, he'd find a way to make up for his cowardice.

"That's fine. I didn't like you to begin with." The Lord said, still speaking to Loose Cannon as he raised his hand. A shifting ball of black smoke whisping into existence above it.

"GRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR……..!!!!!!!!!!" Loose Cannon roared, as he charged at the Lord.

The Lord did not move, as slashing tendrils of energy entered his floating sphere, moments before it flew down into his hand proper, his fingers closing and black rays of power shooting from between them.

Loose Cannon closed in, his footsteps like thunder.

The Lord's attack made no noise, as he hurled what looked like a cloud of sparkling obsidian dust at Loose Cannon. It struck him in the chest…and did nothing, as Loose Cannon drew the last bit of distance and smashed out with his pumpkin sized fist.

The Lord took it full on, to the face.

He did not move.

The ground beneath him moved instead, shattering in a fifty square foot radius as the Lord re-directed the kinetic energy of the attack through his body and out of him, like a lightning rod grounding its namesake. That was the problem of announcing your attack to overtly. Sometimes it didn't work out so well.

Loose Cannon blinked with dull, uncomprehending eyes.

Which widened in sudden shock and horror, as black energy suddenly streamed from within his mouth.

"Haauugghh…won't…let…you…" Loose Cannon rasped.

"Unlikely." The Lord said.

The power exploded out of Loose Cannon's back, his whole posterior disintegrating as terrible, destroying force erupted from within him. Loose Cannon stepped back, his last scream swallowed as the Lord's entropic energies reduced him to nothing, his body falling apart and vanishing on the wind.

The Lord looked at the empty air before coughing briefly, looking down at his body once more. That kinetic re-directing had hurt.

It shouldn't have hurt.

Though considering all his enemies lay in broken heaps, that likely was meaningless…likely…

"…well now…anyone else…?" The Lord said, looking around at the destruction he'd created. There was no answer. "No one?"

Silence.

"…I can smell your fear."

The Lord phased to the side, knocking a hunk of rubble away from him…and finding something unexpected. An old man, with a trimmed mustache, in slacks and a cardigan, who looked like he'd be far more at home reading a book in a library than on a superhuman battlefield. The Lord cocked his head.

"…so…you call yourself…Looking Glass…ah, you were an associate of that unfortunate woman I ripped to shreds." The Lord said, reading Dexter 'Looking Glass' Fairfax's mind to figure who he was.

"…Jolt didn't deserve that." Looking Glass replied, as the old man's upper body turned to crystal and he projected the little energy he had at the Lord. It burst on him, barely even producing a smoke cloud as Looking Glass turned back to normal, already exhausted.

"…deserved has nothing to do with it." The Lord said, reaching out and seizing Looking's Glass's chin. "Why don't you do what your young friend never had a chance to do and beg for mercy."

"…no." Looking Glass said, his terrible fear clear under his attempted defiance.

"It would be smart."

"…you're why…I came out here…to help…instead of hiding away my last years…I saw…your breed…nearly destroy the world and shove whole populations into ovens…I will not…give you…the satisfaction…!"

"…hmnn." The Lord said, as he reached up and pressed a finger on Looking Glass's forehead. "As you will. Stand down, old soldier."

A moment later, Looking Glass was dead on the ground, passing quietly from a massive aneurysm.

"Your generation may have had more of it then these ones I exterminate…but the innate failing runs in you all." The Lord said, summoning his cloaks around him anew. "It would depress me if it didn't invoke so much of my rage."

"Hiya Ricky!"

The Lord's head jerked towards the voice, surprised that he hadn't sensed the speaker coming.

Then he saw who it was, and his eyes narrowed. Now he knew, as the young man in a full body black outfit and golden streaks in his hair dropped down from some rubble nearby.

"…Metestasnathean." The Lord said, in a tone that clearly indicated familiarity. "Summer Child."

Adam Matthews, aka Metatron, did not reply to this other name the Lord had addressed him by, as he glanced around for a second, taking in the death and the remains that were visible to him before looking back at the Lord.

"So, we have ourselves a storm of demons, hell on earth, and a black stormy sky to complete this apocalyptic fantasy of yours. I'd have recommended to just, you know, vent your anger by writing crappy fan fiction with ridiculously detailed character torture instead of breaking the planet, but then again, those flamers leave some nasty reviews. So hey, clearly the better choice to destroy the balance of nature. More power to ya." Metatron said, scratching behind one ear.

"As irreverent as always, I see. I should have burned that out of you." The Lord said. "I thought you would know of all people, Halfling. I am what I always was. The hand of the future. The same whisper that drove evolution and civilization, writ large. Nothing more."

"Uh huh. So, you were severely weakened by your fight with Prime then?"

The Lord's eyes narrowed again. He'd always hated that random perspicariousness that Metatron demonstrated, desultory nonsense disguised as double-edged barbs flitting between more babbling drivel. He hated not being able to pin down things, period, and Metatron was very good at refusing to be a butterfly beneath glass.

"Why don't you come and see how 'weak' I am, like the rest of this meat on the ground?" The Lord said, as his curved blades and 'spinning destruction' arms reformed above him.

"Not likely. The stench is strong enough from where I'm standing. I'm not getting closer." Metatron said, tapping his nose. "Strong stuff here. Curse sometimes. But you would know all about that, wouldn't you, Ricky! After all, you have that fun little faux pas deal going on in your insides, hmmmmmmm?"

"If you're bringing up that inevitability again, my answer remains the same: There needeth be…"

"Anyway, I take it that's a no on the weakness. Or you're lying." Metatron interrupted, clearly more interested in some nearby floating dust clouds then the Lord's words. "So, why didn't you just kill them?"

"…your sight may…"

"No no, they're dead." Metatron said, as he stepped closer. "Why TOY with them? Your power hasn't suffered according to you. You could have killed them, all of them, without touching them, quickly and efficiently. Instead you play Hannibal for the cheap power trip of it. Where's the practicality?"

The Lord snorted.

"You should have learned, demonspawn. When it comes to heroes, it's practicality second, and MESSAGE FIRST. AND THIS TIME, THEY WILL UNDERSTAND IT."

"Really? What does it matter what they think? Why do they need to understand your logic? You are going to kill them anyway. Pretty pointless, isn't it?"

"Allow me to give you your much needed point." The Lord said, as barbs formed on his weapons.

"REALLY, Ricky, that just makes it sound as if you can't stop the time consuming maimings in favor of the simple approach, and are desperately trying to come up with something in your view of things to excuse your blatant joy at elaborately painful murder."

"Perhaps I will finally teach you to shut up…"

"Work on that delivery. Makes you sound like a psychopathic killer. You were going for King, right?" Metatron said. "Swing and a miss, hmmm, Ricky? Much like trying to really decide who you are?"

"I KNOW WHAT I AM." The Lord said as he began floating up

"Or not. For all I know, you have changed your vaguely established goals since last time. So what…now you're shooting to be like whatsherface?"  
The Lord stopped dead.

Alexander Luthor had managed to make the shadow god look surprised.

Metatron had managed to go even beyond that, as for a small minutae of time, a shadow of a second, a look of gut-wrenching fear swept over the Lord's features.

"Well?" Metatron said.

The Lord had no witty or vicious reply. Instead he just screamed, as power erupted off his body and tore the surrounding block around him into pebbles and dust, a crater burned into the ground beneath the Lord as he thundered the vehement rage that had exploded anew through him. The wind whipped Metatron's hair, but he did not change his expression.

"Say, where's the secret hidden practicality in this tantrum, Ricky?"

The ground tore apart beneath the Lord as he blasted at Metatron, who held out his hands, golden energy alighting beneath his skin, and his lazy grin holding just a hint of the grim determination beneath.

* * *

Hellhound was aware that his communication button was buzzing, but he ignored it. He'd thought it was a bad idea to get involved in another massive fight after the Arctic disaster, and he'd been right. Things had gone from bad to worse to appalling, and when the Lord had started ripping the group of metas he'd been previously fighting with apart, he'd decided enough was enough and run for his life. Let the Society take over, or die at the hands of that shadow monster, or the shadow clones, he was out of here…

"GET BACK FOUL ENTITIES! YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR THE WIZARD!" The villainous Wizard said as he managed to blow away two Abhorred. He wished he was as confident as he sounded: magic was still stabilizing and it seemed like the only one who'd gotten in on the ground floor was that Lord of Shadows or whatever his name was. Wizard would have to ask him about it later, before he threw him into a torture dimension for insulting him so grievously.

The Wizard spied Hellhound's running form moments before a building collapsed nearby. He threw up a shield to protect himself from the choking dust and was greatly annoyed when it hardly worked, forcing him to float away coughing and startling Hellhound, who nearly kicked him in response.

"Unless you wish to become a toad, mongrel, I would advise against it." Wizard growled.

"You in the Society?"

"Regretfully. No one remembers who came up with the idea…"

Two more figures appeared from the smoke, as Speedy II and III emerged, clearly uncertain where they were.

"OUR ENEMIES! DO SOMETHING HELLHOUND!" Wizard yelled, as he fired a bolt of magical energy at the pair. It came out far slower than he expected, and he cursed as Speedy II dodged and retaliated with an energy arrow, even as Hellhound dodged backwards to avoid a taser arrow from Speedy III…

The ground suddenly thundered, and the twin archers looked back the way they had come from a moment before. With expressions of clear alarm, they began to run towards the two villains; the Wizard hurled some fireballs, but the two archers dodged them and didn't even bother to counter-attack, as they fled around and past the pair of villains.

"What the…" Hellhound said.

"The fledglings have no spine these days! There will be dear consequences…!"

Doomsday emerged from the same direction the archers had, bellowing as he gave chase. The Wizard and Hellhound barely had time to turn around before he plowed through them.

The Wizard had a shield. He still ended up with several broken bones.

Hellhound had nothing.

His shattered form flying through the air, the last thought the villain had was that maybe he'd been better off with the heroes.

Then all was darkness, as both Speedy's fled from Doomsday's terrible wrath, all alone and likely not far behind Hellhound on the afterlife path.

* * *

"Gyeh…" The Lord said, emerging from his own cloud of dust. "Accursed child, favored of chaos…well, whatever works." The Lord said, as he shook his hand, sparks of golden energy flying off as he tried to rid himself of every last trace.

It wasn't working; the Lord held up his hand to see the golden energy eating into it, burning a hole clear through his palm while one of his fingers simultaneously broke off. This wasn't right. The Summer Child had heat manipulation as a power: despite some of the names he had given his attacks he could not actually manifest solar energy. The fact that his power was proving so vehement spoke of nothing good.

The Lord did some brief mental considerations, and then waved his hand back and forth for a moment: when he stopped, the damage was gone, as was any trace of the golden energy. Nothing to be concerned about. Now, with that settled, it was time for…

More movement. The Lord reformed his sword, once again creating his gigantic double-bladed nodachi, as he reached out towards the sound and used his power to toss the rubble aside.

It was clear from the stance that the person behind it had been attempted pure concealment instead of an ambush, as he slowly stood up, his military fatigues and combat vest clashing with his latex gloves and white face mask.

"…parlay?" The soldier/doctor said, as he took off his mask and waved it like a makeshift flag.

"Ah yes…Dr. Westinghouse, was it?"

"Westminster, sir."

"But of course. Now what are you doing here?"

"Getting dragged along in a massive jailbreak that despite repeated efforts I could not run away from. And then when I finally got into a situation where I could leave my obligations to others and make a tactical withdrawal, I found myself constantly getting turned around. As you might have guessed, I really have no interest in being here."

"Perhaps that's just your poor luck then." The Lord said, as he raised a claw. Dr. Westminster froze.

"…is it really necessary?"

"Do you really enjoy living the way you do? Trapped in that imperfect form, chased by your creators as a mistake, living in constant agony unless you drown yourself in painkillers? In the beginning of this new world, do you really think you have a place?"

"…I don't know. I just know what I'm good at." Westminister said, his tension fading to a more resigned, yet strangely relaxed, state of alertness. "I'd rather you not, but you do what you think you have to. Not like I can stop you, one way or the other."

"Ah yes…finally someone with a clue…" The Lord said, as a ball of killing energy began appearing on his finger. "Sadly, that…"

"LORD!"

The Lord did not immediately turn towards the voice: it was done in the style of getting attention instead of immediately preceding an attack. He waited a few seconds, as Nightwalker appeared from another field of dust, the White Hole slung over her shoulder. It was clear even with the girl's greater than the norm strength that she was exerting all the effort she could to hold the alien up, the mighty warrior nearly completely limp and unresponsive to Nightwalker's words or the Lord's eventual gaze.

"Miss Sine." The Lord said.

"Just stop. You might be all powerful and this world's destined ruler, but once you start being petty, it doesn't matter what happens. You end up scum, one way or another." Nightwalker said. The Lord's black eyes glittered.

"You dare insult me?"

"It's not mockery. It's a reminder of things you surely know." Nightwalker said.

"What I know is, there's too much bite in your words, young lady. You may have proven worthy of my sword…but my hand is a wholly different manner." The Lord said, as he swung his claw towards her. "You shouldn't tell the emperor what he is, or what he isn't, wearing. The Emperor never wants to hear it."

"………..can you not see what I am saying?"

"I see it. I just don't like your tone." The Lord said. "But don't worry. I won't harm you."

The Lord adjusted his finger.

"I'll just make sure you regret your words."

Now it was aiming at the White Hole, who was clearly in no shape to defend herself.

Nightwalker tried to harden her eyes, but like others before her, the fear came through regardless, especially after The Lord swung his pointing finger back to Westminster, as if trying to decide.

"Aren't you too great a being to play Eeney Meeny?"

"Every great being must have his foibles."

"Do we not fit your classification as practical?"

"Perhaps…perhaps not."

"Do I have to draw down?" Nightwalker tried to growl.

"If you wish."

Silence. The Lord looked at the three, Westminster looking back and forth between his enemy and his friend, the White Hole seething and swearing revenge in the small part of her brain that was aware of this, and Nightwalker standing between them, her expression cast between defiance and woe.

Before she lowered her head.

"….please." She whispered. "…if I have to prostrate myself, I will…but…please…"

"….heh." The Lord said, lowering his arm. "Get out of here. All of you. I'd rather not harm something that has some sense."

Nightwalker swallowed, anger mixing with relief as the Lord turned away, as Westminster dashed over and got under the White Hole's other arm. He noticed Nightwalker's face, and shook his head at her. Having your pride and self-respect assaulted was a terrible thing, but sometimes it was the lesser of two horrors.

Then his own face fell. Abhorred were creeping out of the shadows around them. The Lord had lied.

"Don't touch them." The Lord said. "I meant what I said."

Or perhaps not.

"Best get out of here." The Lord said. "This city is about to become hell on earth."

"I believe it already has, sir." Westminster said.

"Oh no." The Lord replied, as darkness flashed in his black eyes. "Not…even…close."

"…well, as they say, don't wish luck. So break a leg. Namely hers." Westminster said, as he himself pointed.

The Lord turned around into Mary Marvel's fist. He snarled and retaliated, while the trio made good their escape, the Abhorred turning away from them and surging towards their master.

It was not to aid him; instead they flitted past the warring pair and attacked the heroes beyond, as the Metal Men charged in and began brawling with the shadow creatures.

"You're going to pay for what you did!" Mary Marvel cursed, as she lashed out with another punch. The Lord took it, countering by ramming his hand into Mary's face.

"There isn't a price you could come up with!" The Lord snarled, firing a point-blank blast that blew Mary Marvel off into the distance again.

A moment later a massive blast of electricity combined with several blasts of volcanic heat and a telekinetic shockwave ripped through the Abhorred, allowing the Metal Men to finish off the remains.

"_There he is_." Looker said, as she was joined by her old Outsiders teammates Black Lightning, Geo-Force, and Katana and the new Outsiders Thunder and Grace. A moment later Hourman, Shining Knight, and Olympian joined them as well. "_SMASH HIM!__"_

"…Oceania is at war with Eurasia. Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia." The Lord mused as the heroes charged in

Then he reformed his weapons and met their charge with his own.

* * *

"Well, here we are again Sine." Westminster said as he did his best to leave the fight behind him.

"Not now Richard. Not now." Nightwalker replied dully. "…but yeah, we always seem to be."

"Ghhnnn…sho'hem…" The White Hole murmured.

"Later Becky. First we need to assure there is one." Nightwalker said.

"Agreed. Let's get our favorite sociopath out of here first. Then we'll sit down, have lunch, and call it a day." Westminster said.

"B'strrddddd…"

"Without a doubt." Nightwalker said, as she and Westminster pulled the White Hole around a corner. "But other people are addressing that fact for us."

* * *

Therma Lad and Hydro Lass were exceptional even for superheroing. For one, they were fraternal twins. For another, they were only eight years old. Despite that fact, their powers had proven potent enough to be part of Uberton's Liberty League…but they'd never seen anything like the carnage that the Battle of Metropolis had wrought. Worst of all were the strange shadow creatures: the villains they knew said 'ow' and 'stop' and 'I'll cut you in on the deal!' whenever you blasted them. The shadow creatures didn't make a sound, no matter how badly they were hurt, and they just kept coming and coming, no matter how much their older teammates Jersey Devil, Baron Fisticuffs, Mole Beatle, and their leader General Havoc pounded on them. They didn't really feel comfortable standing still now, as Mole Beatle, saying he'd 'sniffed something out', had taken advantage of a brief lull and disappeared underground.

"…the city's broken." Hydro Lass said.

"I know." Therma Lad replied. "I didn't even think you could break cities."

"What can we do against that? The city's big and we aren't."

"Don't worry sis. We're Earth's Greatest Heroes! We'll be all BOOM and FWOOSH and SPLASH and it'll be just like any other bad guys!"

"You really think so?"

"…not really."

"I don't like this." Jersey Devil said, fire burning between the gaps of his football-themed uniform. "I was here the last time this sorta crap went down. On the BAD side, but still. Someone's messing with stuff that shouldn't be messed with."

"I must say, I do feel a bit beyond my league. My stomach is rolling like a kaleidoscope." The old-fashioned Baron Fisticuffs said. It was understandable that he was old-fashioned though: he WAS a time-lost 19th century boxer.

"That'll be quite enough dissention in the ranks!" The near eight foot, incredibly muscled, and dressed in combat fatigues (much like a certain doctor) giant General Havoc said. "If you have time to jaw, you two have time to go stand watch on that hi-!"

A gigantic explosion blasted off in the distance, and the Liberty League's eyes were drawn to the sight of a large figure in golden armor being blasted up into the air on a building-sized pillar of darkness. A darkness that formed into a bestial skull and slammed its jaws closed on the hero before exploding, sending the smoking golden figure flying towards them, over them, and off into the distance before he landed with a crash a mile and a half away.

General Havoc was then aware of Therma Lad and Hydro Lass hiding behind him.

For about three seconds, he considered ordering them out of the city. Then he realized that if the heroes lost here, it wouldn't do them any good.

"Jesus Christ…" Jersey Devil said. "I thought I was bad…whoever's out there is taking on half the world's supply of heroes. And he's WINNING."

"It'll be a Pyrrhic victory…" Havoc growled, even as Hydro Lass began to cry and her brother tried to comfort her.

"Don't worry! We'll give it our all!" Fisticuffs trumpeted. "I didn't stop when asthma rattled my lungs or polio took my legs! I exercised until I could do without! Not that those cloned legs Cadmus gave me weren't appreciated…but with enough grit, we SHALL overcome!"

The ground erupted nearby, drawing shrieks from the 8 year old twins.

Fortunately, it was just Mole Beatle.

"I was right. Found some buried treasure." The tech-suit outfitted hero said, as a dirty and battered MSG followed out behind him, blinking and coughing as they reached the surface.

"What in tarnation were you doing underground soldiers?" Havoc asked as gently as his could. Which wasn't very, but he tried.

"We were fighting…a monster…and everything was suddenly falling on us…tried…" Hyperion said, coughing and taking the bottle of water Fisticuffs offered him. "We were trying to help the Titans…lost them…barely escaped alive…might not have made it but…lost them…lost them all…so many…so young…"

"Damnation! Weren't they the only ones that ever beat Shadow King or whatever?" Jersey Devil said.

"I don't know…but this…this is _HIS _fault." Victory Lad said, as he finished cleaning his gun, snapping a new clip into it. "I say we go and put another blemish on his record. Who's with me?"

"BULLY!" Fisticuffs said.

"For once, fancy-pants, I'll agree with you." Jersey Devil said.

Another explosion blasted in the distance a second after Jersey Devil was finished speaking. A second after that, a figure once more arched up against the horizon; this time it was a figure in black, as the Lord flipped over in the sky as Geo-Force, Looker, and Shining Knight on her flying horse Vanguard gave chase.

The chase didn't last, as the Lord threw up his arms, his cloaks flowing out as massive blasts of arcing black energy surged from within them. The bolts smashed into the three heroes, blowing them across the sky and sending them plummeting to the ground in smoking heaps.

The Lord lowered his arms, and even from the distance he was at, Havoc could tell he was admiring his work, as the clouds above roiled and crackled above him and more Abhorred continued to pour down.

"…well, who wants to live forever?" The general said. "FULL STEAM AHEAD!"

* * *

"A man said to the universe 'Sir, I exist!'…" The Lord said to himself as he touched back down on the ground. The remains of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit opened fire on him immediately and futilely, the bullets breaking on his twisting shadow cloaks. He looked at the human soldiers, and darkly chuckled at the irony. Most humans would have run away by now, or at the least retreated after seeing their efforts were worthless. Yet these humans did not. They stood their ground, refusing to give in to their failings…and in doing so, they died.

On one level, the Lord found it tragic. On the other, it simply demonstrated why he had to kill them. A mass of contradictions like that simply could not be allowed to continue. Everything they had laid the ground for, they would eventually tear down and destroy. They'd forged the reins, and the Lord would do the rest.

When he ruled the world, he would make sure that history was gentle on them. Why despise the dead?

" 'However,' replied the universe, 'The fact has not created in me, a sense of obligation'!" The Lord finished, and hurled a blast at the police officers.

It did not reach them, as a dull gray metal wall surged up and took it, the blast exploding on it as another Metal Man, the leader known as Gold, charged in. He swiftly transformed his malleable arm into a morning star, bringing it to bear as he smashed it across the Lord's face.

The efforts of the man of metal proved as pointless as the men and woman of meat.

"Oh look, Magnus' shining moment. Tell me, did he design you to feel pain?" The Lord said, and charged at Gold.

Their name, however, was the Metal MEN, and Gold was not alone, as Iron blocked The Lord's path, sending out his arm in a sword that sliced through the Lord's body. He briefly split it in half, but the Lord reformed from the so-called wound without losing a step. Iron also reacted swiftly, standing his ground before Gold as he tried to grapple the Lord.

"Iron don't! He's too…!" Mercury yelled, but it was too late, as the Lord reared back and plunged his fist into Iron's torso, ripping out a myriad of wires. Iron grimaced, but he kept on the pressure, as his thumbs formed into spikes and lanced out, stabbing into each side of the Lord's neck.

The Lord pulled himself free, the neck wounds causing no inconvenience.

His retaliation was anything but.

"IRON…!" Platinum cried out, as the Lord smashed his fist right through Iron's face and out the back of his skull. Iron's body jerked spastically, as the Lord yanked his hand free and flipped over Iron, landing on his feet and regarding Iron's fellows for a moment.

"Did he design you to feel loss?"

Then he snapped his fingers.

The energies he'd sent shooting into Iron exploded, the blast embedding several shards of metal junk into the Lord's back as the robot went up in a fireball. The Lord didn't even take note, as he started walking forward.

"Judging from your screams, apparently so." The Lord said. "I'd have suggested buying American, except, well….hmmmm."

Several arms of metal lanced at the Lord. He did multiple sideways flips to avoid the stabbing spears…and ran into Hourman's fists, as the legacy hero axe-handled the Lord into the ground.

A moment later The Lord's cape swung out like a massive blade, catching Hourman across the chest and tearing an ugly wound across his stomach muscles even as it sent him flying.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" The Lord said.

Katana leapt from above, swinging her mystical weapon. The Lord whirled around, reforming his own sword, blocking the attack.

Grace immediately charged in from his blind point, swinging out her fist.

The Lord blocked her too. Specifically, with his foot, planting it against Grace's chest and causing her to be winded from the impact before the Lord leapt up and kicked with both feet, knocking his attackers away.

Which let Skyrocket smash into his chest, carrying him away.

"Oh, new blood! Literally!" The Lord said, as he fired twin blasts of concussive force at his attacker.

Her suit promptly absorbed it.

"…oh."

"THIS IS FOR DANNY!" Skyrocket yelled, as she gave the Lord his energy back, blowing him backwards into her teammate Sapphire's flying kick. Said kick knocked him into the giant orange fists of her other teammate Bork, who sent the Lord smashing through another pile of rubble and dragging along the ground.

"…maybe their name has some merit…" The Lord said as he got up…and another shadow fell over him.

The Lord stood up fully, looking at Josiah Power, leader of the 'the world's foremost supplier of superhuman services'. But this was no longer business.

"You killed a good man." Power said, his seven-foot tall rock form crackling with strange energies. "We're going to-"

"Save it." The Lord said, as he fired a blast point-blank into Josiah's face.

Josiah didn't move an inch.

"Hmmmm." The Lord said.

Josiah's punch proved more effective, as the Lord went crashing through the rubble of a building. He flipped back up to his feet, the Power Company gathering before him…

While several spears of metal lanced out of the ground and impaled him on the spot.

"GET HIM!"

"This is the song that doesn't end…" The Lord said, as Black Lightning, Skyrocket, and Power Company member Witchfire blasted him, before Grace, Hourman, Bork, and Sapphire charged in and began hammering on his immobilized form. "It just goes on…and ON…"

The ground began to rumble.

"So let's change the tune."

Only Witchfire was able to follow the Lord as he vanished, her magic-based abilities allowing her to see a brief trail as the Lord phased up into the sky and into the distance.

"I look inside myself and see my heart is black…" The Lord said, as glowing runes appeared on his body. "I see my red door and I WANT TO PAINT IT BLACK…"

"LOOK OU-!"

The Lord streaked back down from the sky and landed amongst the heroes like a meteor.

Blackness consumed everything, moments before piercing, exploding beams of energy erupted from the ground outside the nexus point before they detonated, catching everything in the surrounding in a massive explosion that blasted and scattered the heroes across untold square blocks of distance.

As the blackness faded, a deeper black surged up and reformed.

"No colors anymore…" The Lord said.

A golden spear of metal lanced at the Lord's head: he snapped it to the side and glared at the Metal Men, having returned so soon. Mainly because they'd turned themselves into shields to guard the Special Crimes Unit. Well, if that was how they wanted to play…

"Here he comes!" Tin, the weakest of the robot heroes, said as the Lord began his charge at the Metal Men.

"I see that can opener!" Mercury cursed, as Iron, Lead, and Platinum lanced more piercing, spiked weapons at the Lord.

Whose form abruptly 'skipped', his body abruptly leaving its charge path and appearing in several other places in the space of eye blinks.

"He's trying…!" Was all Gold got out, because then the Lord succeeded, as he phased back into proper existence inches from Gold and slashed out with his claws, carving deep wounds across Gold as the robot stumbled back.

"Gold! You…!" Lead got out, but he was too slow to say or do anything else as the Lord whirled in a flurry of black cloak.

Which disguised his claws switching hands. The Lord slashed out again, 'gutting' Lead as he continued onward. Mercury and Platinum watched in horror as the cuts on their fellows glowed black, and then Gold and Lead exploded, the Lord blowing them apart just like he had with Iron.

Screaming, Platinum lashed out with a drilling ram, even as Mercury slashed out his body in multiple scythe-like blades. The Lord phased out of existence, the attacks hitting just empty air…as the Lord phased back.

In front of Tin.

"Stay out of the kitchen." The Lord said, and with one swiping backwards flip he scythed up a blade on his foot and cut Tin in half from groin to gullet.

"Sorry, wasn't chancing a nice one's eruption." The Lord said as he spun in mid-air and landed facing Platinum and Mercury again. A second later Tin exploded behind him, and the Lord leapt up into the air again.

Faced with such sudden, violent loss, the two remaining Metal Men could only continue their attack, sending lancing spears after the Lord.

"Your actions! So much like humans!" The Lord said, as he dodged their blows in the air, holding up an arm as shadow energy surged through it. "And that's why you lose."

And the Lord retaliated with his own arm spear, his limb lancing down towards the two remaining robots. They dodged, the spear burying itself in the ground, as the robots quickly retreated, moving away from the follow-up upward spear…

Except it wasn't an upward spear. It was a horizontal one, the lances of darkness tearing out not from the ground beneath the Metal Men's feet, but from the rubble around them.

"Doc…" Platinum whimpered.

The points impaled the pair, dark corruptive energies surging into their bodies. They exploded moments later, as the Lord dropped back down.

"What measure?" The Lord mused.

Untold voltage exploded through the Lord's form. For a moment he thought the teenage Sparx had returned to resume her futile attempt to avenge the pain and loss she'd suffered in this battle. But instead of blue, this electricity was golden colored.

It was also seemingly more effective, as the Lord staggered briefly under its power, before turning to look at Black Lightning, who grimaced and redoubled his efforts, the air filling with the scene of ozone as he poured electrical power into the Lord.

"…ah yes, I am in the presence of history here, am I not, Mr. Pierce?" The Lord said, as he began to walk towards Black Lightning. "I wonder if that should…"

Geo-Force erupted from the ground near the Lord, his hands burning with volcanic power…

The Lord blew him away with a gesture, sending Geo-Force tumbling into the distance. The Lord glanced back at Black Lightning, briefly smirking with one corner of his mouth in wry bemusement as Black Lightning saw his attempted ambush lure fail so quickly and catastrophically.

The smirk, however, swiftly turned into a grimace. Black Lightning had been in enough fights to know the expression: he was getting somewhere. Despite the Lord's attempts to keep the poker face, the electricity was hurting him.

The Lord knew it too.

It just made him angrier.

The shadow god's eyes flashed, and Black Lightning gasped as a piercing ray drove itself through his gut. He staggered and fell to one knee, feeling a deep sensation of cold and liquid, as blood began to run down his legs.

It didn't make him let up his attack; the electrical onslaught only weakened briefly before Black Lightning returned to it full force, pouring his power into the Lord. The shadow god's slight stagger from his efforts was all he needed to drive him to continue, ignoring the wound he had been struck, ignoring the creeping coldness, refusing to give in…

His willpower had an equal in the Lord's own though, as the master of the dark began pressing towards Black Lightning once again.

"I have no heart to stop. I have no flesh to burn." The Lord said as he approached, the power coursing and ripping through him: there was so much electricity in the air it was causing the hair of the nearly a mile distant Special Crimes Unit to begin to stand up. And despite the Lord's taunting, Black Lightning could see he wasn't ignoring it. He was FIGHTING through it.

"This is pointless. Hopeless." The Lord said, closing in.

"Always…a point…always…hope…liar…" Black Lightning whispered.

The Lord stepped up to him.

"Strong accusation." The Lord said, his tone flippant despite it all.

In that air, Black Lightning saw every ice-eyed street thug who grinned at him in sadistic defiance of their crimes, every smug, self-satisfied crime lord who thought their ill-gotten gains made them untouchable and unstoppable, every psychotic nut job who treated the powers they had been given not as a responsibility to themselves if not others but an excuse to act like responsibility no longer applied to them, and every other crime Black Lightning had put on a costume and pledged his life to fight.

He knew his answer.

"You…WANT STRENGTH?!?"

Black Lightning reached out and planted his hands on the Lord's chest, sending one last final, gigantic surge directly into his body.

He saw it, the Lord's chest briefly expanding and then blowing apart, the slight wince across the shadow being's expression before his body resumed its normal shape.

He'd done it again.

He'd shown the evils he faced down that something could be done.

For the last time, as the Lord snorted, smoke blowing through his nostrils. He seized Black Lightning by the wrists, dragging him up.

Jefferson Pierce knew what was coming. He had one regret.

He did not let it hold him back.

"I do not fear your lightning." The Lord said.

"…AND I DON'T FEAR YOU!" Black Lightning bellowed, as his whole body abruptly lit up with golden power.

Thunder crashed down nearby, as she saw her father in the Lord's grip…

"DAD!"

"Oh." The Lord said. "This."

The tower of electricity could be seen from miles away, the shockwave of the attack knocking even Thunder's greater-density form on her rear end and sending ripples of disruption through the distant equipment of BULWARK and Marissa Mori.

Thunder sat up, staring at the sight, ice filling her guts.

"…no. No please…no Dad no…"

The tower faded away.

The Lord still stood there, his body no longer smooth and refined, instead a ragged mass of flickering shadows, like a candle flame…holding the charred remains of Black Lightning in his hands. The hero had brought everything he had and more to bear in one final strike, even with the knowledge that it might turn out the way it had. It was the path of least regrets.

"…if that's how you want to handle it." The Lord said, and dropped the body at his feet.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDD!" Thunder screamed, as the Lord glanced up at the agonizing young hero.

"…ah, the prodigal daughter." The Lord said. "…so, was it worth it?"

Thunder had no immediate reply, as tears streaked down her cheeks.

"He was proud of you. Always was. But he never wanted this for you. That's why he made the deal he did. And what did you do? You went out and joined the fight as soon as its requirements were done. You put on a costume and tried to save the world. Well, this is the world, little girl. And this is what you end up as. This is what you earn."

The Lord's body smoothed back over. He paused to examine his hand, and then looked back at Thunder.

"So tell me, orphan. Was it worth it?"

There was no coherence in the scream Thunder made as she leapt up into the air, all words lost in a raw, overwhelming eruption of grief and anger.

The Lord knew the sound well.

In a way, it was all he really knew.

Thunder spiked her density, lancing down at the Lord with a multi-ton stomp. The Lord dodged, Thunder shattering the ground and sending her own shockwave of force, her namesake power. In this case, though, it worked against her, as the ground was weak and semi-porous from its constant battering and Thunder found herself nearly sinking to her waist in the shattered rock.

If the Lord had wanted to run and kick her head off, she wouldn't have had much in the way of defense. Instead, he stood there, his cloaks blowing in the breeze, regarding her with calm, detached analysis.

In its own way, that was worse.

Thunder lost most of her fingernails clawing her way out, as she lunged for the Lord, who dodged to the side. For the next several seconds Thunder clawed, lashed, and grabbed for her father's murderer; none of her attacks came even close to touching him.

Then he stopped moving.

Thunder swung at him: he ducked. Several more blows also hit nothing, as the Lord dodged out of the way each time, he last time a backwards matrix-esque dodge, as he stood back up and looked deep into Thunder's eyes.

"Got an answer yet?"

Stronger fingers seized the Lord's hair, yanking him backwards.

"Yeah! %#$& YOU!" Grace yelled, as she smashed her fist down on the Lord's chest, driving him into the ground. He began sitting up, right into a super-density kick from Thunder that smashed his head backwards into the ground again, as Grace picked up a nearby wrecked car and smashed it down on the Lord's fallen body, moments before Thunder decreased her density, leapt up, and increased it again, crushing the Lord into the ground below it.

"Don't I at least warrant something origin-" The Lord said as he got up, shoving the car off…and met both Grace and Thunder's fists, sending him flying backwards and bouncing off a nearby wrecked bus. The Lord landed on his feet, only for Thunder to tackle him and drive him into the ground, Grace joining her as the twin women rained down blows on the Lord's form, Thunder's out of control screams and Grace's cursing filling the air…

"All right, IT'S OFFICIAL." The Lord snarled.

A pulse threw the women backwards. They quickly scrambled back up to attack…as the Lord's body phased away. The two women stopped, looking around.

Then the Lord phased back. Between them.

"YOU BORE ME!"

Twin gigantic blasts flew from each of the Lord's hands, enveloping and blowing away the twin vengeful girls; Thunder was carried up into the air as the blast arced up and exploded in the top of a leaning building, while Grace was blasted through several piles of rubble before being buried in a final one.

The Lord lowered his hands, staring at them as they began to flicker once more. Was it getting that bad? First Metestasnathean, then electricity…now even physical blows were starting to have an effect? Had he stretched himself that thin? Had he, despite his efforts, overestimated himself?

Would he have to resort…

A question to answer later. More enemies approached him. The Lord refocused his hands, as Katana dropped down near him.

Even if the Lord wasn't a mind reader, he would have just had to seen the guarded pain in Katana's eyes to know how she felt.

"Familial relationships mean nothing in the end." The Lord said, as he turned to face Katana. Twisting the knife. A precarious but effective tactic. "Neither does camaraderie."

"…Jefferson…" Katana said, as she knelt by Black Lightning's fallen form. If she shed any tears in her brief repose, the Lord didn't see them.

He saw the anger, as Katana snapped up her head.

"_YURUSENAI ZO!__"_ Katana screamed, as she ran and leapt through the air, swinging her namesake blade.

It met the Lord's double-bladed nodachi, as black sparks flew from the clash.

"I DIDN'T ASK." The Lord snarled, the pair breaking apart and swinging their weapons again, the twin magical sword crashing together in another spray of black sparks.

* * *

"Did we lose him?" Speedy II said, as he touched down on the ground after swinging over a hazardous sinkhole with his fellow archer. Speedy III was about to reply, except Doomsday appeared at the other end of said pit first.

"NO! RUN!" Speedy III yelled, and she and the teenage boy who had usurped her mentor's ward's name for his own purposes did just that. Doomsday leapt after them, flying across the pit and landing on the edge…

Which buckled and tore off, Doomsday tumbling into the sinkhole. The two Speedy's barely outran the broken ground that would have dumped them right in after him, and even then they still took a tumble.

"Why is he picking on u….UUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHH!" Speedy II yelled, as he whipped out two arrows and fired them over Speedy III, the energy projectiles blasting through the heads of the Abhorred that had appeared behind her. A few more quick arrows blew the creatures further apart, before Speedy II reached down to offer a hand.

Speedy III instead nocked her own arrow and fired past Speedy II's ear. The Abhorred leaping towards him with an axe was zapped by a massive amount of electricity and blown apart. For some reason, Speedy III felt a sudden sense of déjà vu.

"Mind your surroundings, dumbass." Speedy III said as she got up.

"Can we save the insults? I don't have many arrows left, you?"

Speedy III's reply was swallowed by another bellow, as Doomsday launched himself up from the pit he'd fallen into. This time, the ground did not completely buckle beneath him when he landed.

"I don't think all the arrows in the world will help!" Speedy III yelled, even as she drew another. Knowing outright running was out of the picture, Speedy II did likewise, the two of them firing the shots with literal bull's-eye accuracy, as both of them went shooting into Doomsday's eyes. While he bellowed at the brief discomfort, Speedy II shot an explosive arrow into Doomsday's chest before Speedy III fired two smoke arrows on either side of him, providing a fog of war for a few crucial seconds as the two began to retreat again.

Doomsday charged out of the smoke a second later: it was like he could smell them, and as far as Speedy II could tell, maybe he could. He whirled and shot some more arrows; this time, they just glanced off Doomsday's skull as he roared again.

Which gave Speedy III the opening she wanted, as fired her own explosive arrow into his mouth. It detonated…and proved as effective as a bland party sauce.

"…well I'm fresh out of ideas." Speedy III said dully.

Doomsday roared and stomped his foot, and the ground shook, causing both teenagers to lose their feet.

"…damn it all." Speedy II whispered, as Doomsday began to charge.

Two more arrows, connected by a crackling green line, flew over the pair. Each arrow shooting past either side of Doomsday and wrapping the energy line around him once before meeting together in front of Doomsday's chest. A loud popping noise sounded as they impacted each other, and then Doomsday abruptly flew up into the air; the trigger device, for the space of several seconds, completely negated his personal gravity.

Before it returned it at ten times the intensity. Doomsday smashed into the ground like an insect being slapped by an angry god.

"…TOLD you the Tower of Power would work." Green Arrow said as he dropped down. "Come on kids, this isn't a place for any of us!"

"I never said it wouldn't, I just said…!" Arsenal replied, reaching down and grabbing up Speedy II, and none too gently at that.

"Save it kid! We have to go!" Green Arrow said, as he began retreating with Speedy III.

"We need to…" Speedy III tried to say.

"I said save it Mia. There's nothing we can do here." Green Arrow said. "We need to go! Go go…!"

With (surprise surprise) a roar, Doomsday pushed himself back up, eyes blazing with anger.

A moment later twin arrows broke themselves against said eyes.

"We already tried that!" Speedy II said, even as he brought up his own bow and began firing.

"Well, if at first you don't succeed…!" Green Arrow said, as Doomsday batted the remains of the eye-arrows away. "RUN CHILDREN!"  
"No! I'm not leaving you!" Speedy III yelled back as she also began firing.

"Speedy, THIS IS A DIRECT ORDER. GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Oh please old man, you couldn't talk me out of donning this costume, you couldn't get me out of it afterward, and you can't change my mind now!" Speedy II said, as the four backed up, firing arrows at Doomsday as rapidly as they could, the four instinctively switching up the offensive type and impact zones of their projectiles in the faint, desperate hope they might do something, ANYTHING…

"We hit him a whole bunch before this! Lots of us!" Speedy II said. "Maybe we can…cherry tap him…!"

"Hey kid! Here's something you never quite learned. SHUT UP!" Green Arrow yelled, as the archer team fought for their lives.

* * *

Something Katana was doing equally as hard, as she and the Lord clashed weapons again and again. After all the duels she'd fought since she began wielding the soul-eating blade, the Lord's technique was nothing to write home about, but his sheer strength and complete lack of limits more than made up for it. Not to mention his weapon defied the basic laws of physics: he was swinging his gigantic sword around like it was a whiffle bat.

One more factor gave him a clear edge: he cheated, as the blades met again, and black energy erupted off the Lord's blade, tearing into Katana and paralyzing her muscles in pain. A cry escaped her, as the Lord shoved outward from the blade lock and sent her flying backwards. She crashed against some rubble, as the Lord swung his blade up, gave it a brief twirl, then aimed it at her again.

"Don't worry about your old friend, mortal. You'll be seeing him again, VERY soon." The Lord said, and leapt towards Katana, slashing with his blade.

Fortunately, as mentioned, his technique wasn't exactly much to write home about. Katana pushed off from where she'd been driven, rolled under the Lord's incredible range, and stabbed out with her sword, driving it into his chest.

"…uch." The Lord said, sounding genuinely bothered.

A moment later Katana went flying backwards, but not through any effort on the Lord's part. Her own sword had done it, as she suddenly heard a series of panicked whispers in her head. The Lord touched the closing wound she'd inflicted on him, having seemingly lost interest in his enemy.

"…not what it expected?" He finally said, looking at Katana.

"…my sword…you…"

"It consumes souls, yes. Of those it kills. I'm not so easy to kill."

"That was not the reason! You…your…what ARE you?" Katana said as she stood up. "What they felt…writhing in your chest…it was no more a soul than cancer is a cell!"

"What were you expecting?" The Lord said, bringing his blade up again. "Something like _YOUR _breed_?__"_

"…you are damned. Beyond any comprehension…"

"Yes yes. I've heard this before. You get the same answer." The Lord said. "There needeth be not the hell that heroes frame, To punish those who err. Earth in itself, contains at once the evil AND THE CURE."

The same energy the Lord had used before erupted on his blade.

"If you wish to fall on your sword like your ally, now would be the…"

The small wrist shield slammed into the Lord's face, carrying him away as the 'Lady of Battle' Sala made her entrance count, pushing the Lord through another wrecked building and leaving Katana behind. For a moment, the Japanese hero had no idea whether to feel relieved or ashamed.

Then Abhorred came for her, and as she carved one in half, she decided to feel vengeful again.

The Lord had, by then, pushed off Sala's shield ram and flipped backwards, running along the battle-devastated ground: the female warrior kept pace with him as she whipped out a thin golden scimitar.

"ISHTAR WILL STRIKE YOU DOWN!"

Sala leapt through the air, bringing a far more potent strength behind her than Katana could muster. Her sword blow caused faint scraps of darkness to erupt off the Lord's arms and body as he blocked her attack.

"Ishtar can get in line!" The Lord retorted, as he pushed Sala away and continued to run: Sala ran alongside him another moment before she leapt again. The Lord met her in the air, the two slashing their blades across each of their respective weapons before landing and continuing to duel at high speed, leaping, slashing, and striking for a quarter of a mile.

At which point the Lord smirked briefly.

"Ishtar has granted you great power, but the world's state of flux has blunted it, it seems! You lack a certain edge!"

The Lord traced his finger along his gigantic sword.

"Allow me to provide you with one!"

The black blade flew out from the Lord's slashing attack, tearing through rubble and zooming in on Sala, who stopped and crossed her sword and shield in front of her. The cutting blade struck it, boring against the weapons for a moment…and then shattering as Sala scattered the energies.

While the Lord appeared behind her.

Sala barely got out a gasp as five talons erupted from her chest.

Her aborted gasp turning into a gurgle, blood trickled from Sala's mouth as the Lord yanked his claws free and pushed the woman onto the ground, regarding her as his form briefly flickered again.

"Perhaps you could have been a contender, kid. But life is not so kind." The Lord said, turning away. "A lesson these heroes will yet lea-"

The white blast of energy streaked down; the Lord turned and held up his hand to block it, summoning a dark shield…

Which didn't hold. The blast pierced through and struck the Lord; he recoiled, looking at his arm as it hissed and burned. Solar energy. In a way, worse. STELLAR energy, the power of MULTIPLE stars.

"I always was a slow learner!" Stargirl said as she swooped down and let loose with her cosmic rod again. This time, the Lord leapt backwards to avoid the shot, snarling low in his throat.

"A pity, that." the Lord said, dodging to the side to avoid another blast. "Because there's a few lessons you should have known. One, I hate heroes. Two, I REALLY hate CHILD heroes. And THREE, I _ESPECIALLY _HATE CHILD HEROES WITH SOLAR-BASED POWERS." The Lord growled, as he fired his own black ray. Stargirl swung her Cosmic Rod in front of her, swiftly forming a white energy shield that deflected the blast.

"Hate away." Stargirl retorted, and countered with a piercing white energy sword. The Lord tried to grab it, but the blade burned through his hands and pierced into his chest, driving him backwards and pinning him against some wreckage.

"I assure you, the feeling is mutual." Stargirl said.

"Not. Even. CLOSE." The Lord snarled, as he made a slashing gesture. Twin gigantic clawed hands of shadow emerged from the rubble of buildings on either side of Stargirl and crashed together, squashing the nubile heroine between them.

The Lord yanked himself off Stargirl's stellar energy blade, crouching over as he felt the burning in his chest. This was not good.

It got worse, as with another blaze of white energy Stargirl blew apart the Lord's shadow hands, flying down and smashing the Lord with the glowing end of her staff, sending him flying backwards. He flipped over and thrust out his hands to counter, only for twin blasts of stellar energy to explode on either side of him and knock him off balance, canceling his attack as he fell to one knee.

"I'm beginning to see where you got your rep." Stargirl said. "The Titans didn't have ME."

"They can have your HEAD." The Lord retorted, as he held out a hand. Stargirl threw up another shield, as a glyph appeared in the Lord's hand…

Before flying backwards into his mouth.

"Huh?" Stargirl said,

The Lord screamed, and Stargirl suddenly found herself under sonic assault, the attacking piercing into her ears and rattling her concentration and equilibrium, her shield twisting and distorting as her focus was disrupted.

"Or whatever's LEFT of it!" The Lord yelled, as he leapt out and slashed with his claws. Stargirl managed to hold her shield, but the Lord succeeded in knocking her backwards this time. Stargirl was too busy trying to regain her bearings to see the Lord breaking off his attack at that, as the shadow god snarled and shook his hand, the white energy burning away at him.

"You're the new blood of the Justice Society, aren't you?" The Lord said, trying to cover his aborted blow with more taunting. "I wonder if they'll bleed out once I dump your corpse at their feet."

"Dream on nutcase!" Stargirl yelled, firing another stellar energy blast. The Lord dodged and fired his own, his blast exploding near Stargirl and throwing her to the ground. She pushed herself up, as the Lord touched down himself.

Only the fact he drastically threw his arms back gave her the time to thrust her staff out and mount a defense.

The Lord blasted a two-handed destroying ray at Stargirl, and she met it with her own stellar energy blast. The Lord snarled once more, feeling the power of her weapon even from this distance…but he had power too, even now….

A windstorm of debris was kicked up from the beam war, Stargirl pouring all her power against the Lord, and the Lord doing likewise. The difference rapidly became clear, as even with her 'base advantage', Stargirl found her attack beginning to be pushed back against the Lord's sheer vitriolic outburst. The teenage girl felt sweat bloom beneath her mask: she'd seen the end result of what this lunatic had done, and knew he played for keeps. If he hit her…

"Give it up!" The Lord said.

"No!"

"You heroes. Never know when to pack it in. As you wish." The Lord said, and redoubled his efforts, ignoring the burning pain ripping through his body. It would stop as soon as she was dead, and she would be dead soon, as his offensive tore through Stargirl's. "You shouldn't have crossed me girl! Especially not-!"

He saw it, a blink in the corner of his eye.

"Alone…?!"

The second white beam flew out of the sky and exploded on the Lord's hands.

"WHAT IN DAMNATION-AUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!" The Lord bellowed as Stargirl's beam struck him, his attack effort destroyed by the secondary attack. The blast pierced through his chest again, blowing the Lord backwards before he went crashing into more rubble.

"She's not alone."

At first, Stargirl had thought it was her stepfather Pat Dugan, aka S.T.R.I.P.E., who had come to her rescue. However, she wasn't too surprised when the man who dropped down was dressed in normal clothes instead of an armored hero. His only standout was his leather jacket, aviator goggles for windshear, and a small star-shaped badge.

A delighted smile appeared on her face. She knew this man as well, and not just because he was holding a slightly less impressive version of the Cosmic Staff she herself wielded.

"Jack!"

"KNIGHT!!!!!!!!!" The Lord bellowed as he got up.

"Starman." Jack Knight retorted, and let the Lord have it with another stellar energy blast, knocking the Lord down again.

"You bloody kids. This is the last time you drag my ass out of retirement." Jack Knight said, as Stargirl floated up by him.

"There were other times?" Stargirl said.

"Hey, I'm a busy man. Can't always be saving the world." Jack said, looking down at the Lord's form. Unlike the last time he'd been hit, he had stayed down, smoke rising off his body as he hissed air he didn't need through clenched teeth.

"Something wrong, murderer?" Came a voice, and the Lord looked sideways to see Firehawk back, a bad penny that kept turning up. "You don't look so hot."

"…heh…hah hah…don't even…BEGIN to think…the winner's been decided!"

The Lord fired a piercing blast at Firehawk.

She blew it out of the sky.

She should not have been able to do that.

The white stellar energy rope seized the Lord's ankles and yanked him off his feet. He yelled and slashed out with his capes, cutting through the power's grip, before Jack Knight followed up Stargirl's trip with a swinging bludgeon blow, knocking the Lord up into the sky.

"Looks like we have a winner!" Firehawk said. Jack grinned as both he and Stargirl thrust out their staffs.

"Jackpot!"

"Repartee means noth-GRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Lord yelled as the twin Cosmic Rod blast blew him across the Metropolis sky in an out of control tumble. It took him several seconds to right himself, the momentum still carrying him along as he straightened up…

Right into Hyperion.

"This punch'll repart you in two!"

It didn't, though the blow knocked the Lord back across the black Metropolis skyline.

"Into what?" The Lord said.

He got his answer.

The flaming sword ripped into his chest as Zauriel hurled himself downward towards the ground, carrying the Lord with him. The impact was considerably less destructive than Prime's own fall, but it was no less devastating, leaving the Lord pinned to the smoldering earth.

"…so what happened…to God's love?" The Lord whispered.

"God loves. Man chooses. And you have made your choice." Zauriel said. "But it's not too late."

The angel dodged the Lord's counter blast, pulling his sword free as he did so. The Lord staggered up to his feet, taking several seconds and nearly falling down in the process, as he looked around.

He was surrounded. The remnants of the Power Company had returned, and Hyperion had rejoined his team up efforts with the Liberty League and his own group. Stargirl and Jack 'Starman' Knight had met up with STRIPE, along with JSA members Mr. Terrific, Hourman, Hawkman, and Sand. Mary Marvel had returned as well, with a friend: her fellow Marvel Captain Marvel Jr. On top of that, Zauriel had joined Firehawk, Looker, Breach, Geo-Force, both Steels, and Sparx, and for a moment the Lord could swear he saw a chimpanzee in a detective outfit in the background. That possibility faded into irrelevance in record time, as he stood and stared at his foes.

"He's down to his last efforts. His reach has exceeded his grasp." Witchfire said, as flitters of darkness wafted off the Lord's body and vanished, something that had been happening constantly since he'd taken the twin Cosmic Rod shot. The Lord's eyes betrayed no weakness though, as he turned them onto each enemy.

So it had come to this. For all his efforts, he didn't have enough.

"Any last words?" Firehawk taunted.

So be it.

"…………….three."

And the Lord leapt skyward.

* * *

Marissa Mori felt something like a faint poke on the back of her skull, a quick four taps that startled her out of her observations. She'd been watching her master go to war, all this time, and how for all his epic efforts it seemed that he was finished.

She also knew that her master's confidence and certainty was not misplaced.

She knew what he had planned.

What the taps on the back of her head meant.

She was to get ready.

Fast, as the Sorceress stiffened, and suddenly let out what sounded like a low sigh. For a split-second, Marissa could swear she saw a ghostly image flow out of the Sorceress' body and disappear.

Marissa looked at the Sorceress, who now lay limp, and then turned her eyes to what was to come.

She had her orders.

* * *

"Sir, the shadow creature has been pinned down by a large coalition of heroes including two Uberton teams. His strength appears to be fading, and his shadow clones, while numerous, seem to have hit a quagmire that is turning against them. The situation appears to be getting better." One of the Bulwark agents said, as Roger Candide stood at the somewhat-battered bridge of the _Achilles_, where he and his men had been reduced to spectators of the battles that had passed.

"What about Prime and Luthor's group?"

"Prime is still down: scans show no resurgent life signs. Alexander Luthor is still MIA, but there is still a fair bit of fight in his remaining Society members. The shadow clones have not been able to affect several of the strongest ones, and many others have proven clever in their survival tactics. Or fortunate."

"Keep an eye on Prime, and find me Luthor or his corpse. It's down to those two and the Lord as our axis of evil. Once those three are accounted for, this becomes cleanup."

"We should be in good hands." A returned, albeit grumpy Peregrine said as he popped up, an ice pack tied to his head, right shoulder, and right thigh. "I've checked the data. The shadow being's rudimentary combat numerical readings rose to 5200 for a moment or two during his extended fight, but they dropped back down and have kept dropping. He's finished."

"What about Prime?"

"I didn't get a chance to scan him. I was estimating 7500-7900 for him. Namely because in my analysis, anything beyond the 8000 range would be Buddha riding Zeus in a three-legged race with Thor. While waving around the Worlogog."

"…just how accurate are your…numerical analytical reading combat…scans…sir, wouldn't it be better to have a simpler name for such a measure?" A Bulwark agent said.

"Do not question my inventions! It is why I am your superior instead of in prison! And what, pray tell, would YOU call it?"

"…a power level?"

"Oh yes, let's not use the nomenclature of the man with six P.H.D's. No, let's allow the bridge man who's two steps up from Starbucks the chance…"

"He's calm…" Ermine Chalk said, partly to herself and partly to cut Peregrine off.

"Pardon?" Roger said.

"The shadow demi-god, the Lord…he's surrounded and low on power…yet he's…calm…"

_He__'__s calm._ That concept put a terrible bolt of fear through Roger Candide's heart. Anger he could understand. But to be CALM under these circumstances…

"Countermeasures ready?"

"As best we can muster sir…" A Bulwark agent said.

"Why would he be calm?" Roger asked.

"Well, it has been demonstrated that when things do not go his way or surprise him, he, despite his efforts, tends to lose control. Lets his emperor mask drop to see the violent sadist and/or lunatic beneath." Ermine said. "So to be calm when, despite his efforts, he seems to be defeated…suggests…that…"

"He expected all of it."

It was around then that the Lord shot into the sky.

"…and had his own countermeasure." Ermine said fatalistically.

"FIRE, DAMN IT FIRE!"

Too late.

* * *

"YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY!" Firehawk yelled as she gave chase after the Lord's skyward form, several other heroes following her.

"I'm not running." The Lord said. "Oh yes, and those aren't my three words. They're these."

The Lord stopped.

"Full synchronization. INITIATE."

Firehawk and the other heroes were blown away by a pulse of force, as something all but invisible flew into the Lord.

He vanished in a brilliant eruption of light.

* * *

Sparks promptly exploded from the various monitors of the _Achilles_ bridge, as the shockwave buffeted the battered skyship and nearly knocked it out of the air again.

"UGH!" Ermine said, collapsing.

"…what just happened!?!?" Roger yelled with an uncharacteristic lack of control.

"That magical power…the one we sensed him tapping for aid…"

"What about it!?!"

"He was just utilizing some of it…until now. Now he's fully merged with it."

"MERGED? Meaning WHAT, Ermine?"

"Meaning we just saw the first great power in a new age of magic, on top of residual and restorable powers of a demi-god level."

Roger stared dumbly for a second, and then turned back to Peregrine, who, as he had expected, had raised his scanning device back to his eyes.

"…Nathaniel…what does your machine say about his rudimentary reading hypothetical co…his power level?"

Peregrine lowered his device, his own face a dumb look of shock. Which was swiftly replaced by anger.

"IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!!!!!" Peregrine cursed, crushing the device in his hand.

"WHAT?! NINE THOUSAND?!" Roger said. He never understood, despite the terrible situation they were in, why several of the younger deck hands suddenly burst into giggles if not outright laughter.

"THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!" Peregrine cursed. "It goes up to 10,000 for completion's sake, not because anything existing should be able to get anywhere near there! It's not a linear measure, it's an exponential! Nine thousand is akin to accidentally getting the whole history of the Justice League at once! It's inconceivable! INCONCEIVABLE!"

"_You keep saying that word__…"_

The Lord's voice echoed in everyone's head again. This time, Ermine found she couldn't block him out.

"…_I do not think it means what you think it means. Quite literally. Ha ha ha ha ha__…"_ The Lord laughed, his words trailing off into a low chuckle.

"…when did he, in his terrible joyless life, ever see the _Princess Bride?_" Peregrine said in numb curiosity. Roger was too busy cursing, and spent longer then he needed to on doing so before he returned to his senses.

"FIRE THAT MISSILE!"

"Everything's offline! We can barely keep in the air!" The Bulwark agent replied, which sent Roger into another storm of cursing.

"…it's almost beautiful…" Ermine said in strange wistful tones. "Such pure, refined power, the brilliant glow of a new age…"

"CHALK!" Roger yelled.

"Snapping out of it sir."

"What do we do?"

"Quite frankly sir…you might as well ask me to put out a forest fire with a garden hose."

"THEN WE USE THE GODDAMN FIRE HOSE!"

"If the elements haven't sucked all the air out of our lungs before reducing us to wet ash beforehand." Peregrine said, slumping down in his seat. "You have never heard me say this before, and you will never hear me say this again. This is beyond the power of science to solve."

* * *

"…ah…ah, Ithlian…" The Lord said quietly to himself. The shadow god had transformed: his cloaks had become more like a robe, with a 'jack of spades' flare now behind his head. His all-black outfit was now shot through with white and glowing red runic marks, along with pronounced white veins that had bloomed on his face. "I see truly why now…how you made sure the Spectre never turned his deadly gaze on us…how you took off at a run when all the other magicians had to learn how to walk all over again…hmmmmmmmmm…had our choices and chances gone differently, you would be the rightful ruler of this world…but that is not how things went…"

White misty energy flowed up from the Lord's hands, black crackling power mixing with it, a series of massive magical emblems appeared in the air around him.  
The heroes were coming again. The Lord turned his eyes on them.

"And so instead, I stand here with your power, and my own. And MY WORLD."

The Lord snapped his fingers once more.

It was like the air itself exploded, a gigantic orb of power erupting from the Lord's body and scattering the heroes like rag dolls, a half mile-radius crater smashed into the ground below the Lord.

The Lord glanced at his hand again. This time, he was well pleased.

"And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, AND TO CONQUER." The Lord said, and thrust out his hand, as the clouds opened and Abhorred poured forth anew.

* * *

All down across Metropolis, the same runic symbols that had appeared on the Lord's cloaks suddenly alit themselves on the Abhorred as well.

They abruptly went crazy, going from shadow warriors to insane destroyers, abandoning all elegance for sheer overwhelming savagery.

Athena Jones had thought being attacked by the possessed body of an old friend was bad enough. Then Paragon Classic's head split open to reveal a snapping jaw and a spiked tongue.

"HOLY-!" Athena screamed, the metamorphosed THING nearly taking a large bite out of her chest before Faith blew it away. It immediately got back up, the body still going despite half its bones being broken, refusing to back down, quit, or accept anything but complete destruction.

"…RUN FOR IT!" Athena yelled.

"WHERE?" Metamorpho replied, as more Abhorred came crawling out of the woodwork, unfeeling, unnatural, and unceasing.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO! GET AWAY! GET AWAAAAAAAAAYYYY!" Mister Who cried as he tried to turn himself two-dimensional and slip away through a wall crack. He was halfway there before an Abhorred dropped on his shoulders, seizing and ripping his head off in one clean jerk.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…this really isn't funny." The Creeper said, as he kicked away two Abhorred. He saw the Nazi super group Axis Amerikka in the distance, furiously fighting the Abhorred. With the appearance of the symbols, it quickly went from a stalemate to a complete slaughter, as the creatures sliced, cut, and pulled apart the so-called Aryan master race. Creeper would have normally found it hilarious that a group of racists had been so viciously slaughtered by what were in a sense 'black people', except no skin color matched the tone of the Abhorred. Their violence and cruelty crossed all skin and culture boundaries, found in the black hearts of people everywhere.

"This is nuts! We need to run!" Gearhead yelled, as he fired mini-missiles from his cybernetic arm and collapsed some rubble onto the nearest Abhorred. He turned to his erstwhile companions, the Russian villains Hammer and Sickle…

Sickle drove her namesake into his gut. Gearhead could only vaguely remember seeing their eyes glowing black before Hammer brought his own weapon down on Gearhead's skull and destroyed his memories along with everything else.

"LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME-AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Quakemaster screamed before another Abhorred pierced into his body. His eyes went black, and his screams turned to mad laughter as he promptly turned and unleashed his sonic jackhammer on the nearest group of metahumans, which happened to be a dazed Shining Knight and Bulleteer. They frantically tried to escape the collapsing rubble around them, the roaring sound of the destruction somehow not drowning out the madness of Quakemaster's cachinnation.

"YOU BETTER RUN MONOCLE!" Ubertron hero Black Sparrow yelled, as the new Monocle frantically tried to fend off the attacking Abhorred with his special eyepiece. He should have listened instead; an Abhorred slipped past his force blasts, and a second later Monocle was in two pieces, his upper and lower halves crashing to the ground as Black Sparrow looked away in disgust.

Sparrow's was getting an equally pleasant sight, as Bruce Cabot watched an Abhorred pounce on the villain Hardsell: the mercenary got out a brief scream before the Abhorred literally rammed its arm down his throat. Cabot didn't bother watching what happened next, as he turned away in horrified revulsion.

"This isn't getting 'us nowhere!" Sparrow said, as he flipped away from an attacking Abhorred, letting his superstrong partner punch it away. Cabot recoiled from the attack, clutching his fist as the Abhorred's essence burned him. "This is why we stay away from the big ones!"

"Agreed! I kind of miss the Purple Nurple right about now…!" Cabot replied, before another Abhorred dropped down onto Cabot's pronounced afro. Despite what some might think, Cabot was far more grateful for his partner kicking the entity off than any damage his hair suffered. He ripped up a nearby parking meter and added his efforts to Sparrow's, promising himself that if he survived, he'd get around to telling Fog O'War how he really felt…

"AYYYYYYYYYYYEAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" New Wave screamed, as several Abhorred jumped into her body and promptly ripped her water form again, her face splattering into nothing at the hands of the glowing black claws of the creatures. The four-armed Rip Roar, having already vanquished so many Abhorred, just kept doing what had worked for him, blasting away with destructive streams of fire and ice. The spawn of Apokolips was too focused on his targets to see one leap through the air and transform itself into a whirring buzz saw. He _did _see it coming, however, and moved to grab it. Then he had no hands to grab it with. Then he had nothing else, as the buzz saw sheered him in half in an epic gout of blood.

"BACK OFF!" Kate Spencer yelled as she impaled the Abhorred on her glowing staff end and yanked it upward, ripping the Abhorred nearly in half. She was the eighth person to bear the Manhunter name, but there wasn't anything remotely human in these creatures, and she knew it as she turned to retreat…and drew up short. She recognized the man before her, the mountainous killer known as Bane, and he was proving to be one as he smashed and tore apart every Abhorred that attacked him, seemingly oblivious to the bloody wounds covering his form.

"Hey Bane! This is a bad place!" Manhunter found herself yelling for reasons she barely comprehended. "You should run!"

"NO! NEVER!" Bane thundered. "I have spent too long not knowing who I am! I know now! I always did! I AM BANE! I BREAK…!"

An Abhorred tore in from the side, stabbing a shadow talon into the side of Bane's knee. He roared and crushed the creature's head with a massive fist, but that let two more Abhorred get the drop on him from above. Bane bellowed again, grabbing them and smashing them together…as parts of their bodies speared out and impaled through Bane's chest. Bane yanked the points out and punched his attackers into the distance, and then grabbed the next Abhorred, smashed it into the ground, and stomped on it, as another Abhorred leapt onto him and sank its teeth into his thigh. Bane tried to remove it as well, but it proved far more tenacious, and that was the last mistake Bane ever made, as more and more Abhorred leapt on the giant, Bane vanishing beneath a sea of them, bellowing his defiance to the last.

His arm became the last thing to be seen out of his whole body, sticking out from beneath the writhing, destroying mass of Abhorred. It went limp, a sea of blood flowing out from the maniacal creatures, as Manhunter decided that there was no more time for advice.

There might not be any more time for anything.

* * *

Alexander Luthor could only watch in dismay.

The blackness of the world, the blackness he hated so much, refused to be beaten back, constantly returning again and again even more violent and destructive then before. Caring for nothing beyond its own dominance.

Why had the heroes opposed him? Did they not see what they had done? Instead of a clean, perfect Earth, they were stuck with this diseased parody of one, all the ideals and beliefs Alexander had once held dear thrown away, dragged down and devoured. Even when he tried to make this world better, they stood in his way…and this was the end result.

Had he caused this? Did his effort for a final blow against corruption lead to its final victory?

Would he have been better in the cave, looking at the shadows at the wall?

* * *

To some though, the shadows were less important then other problems. Like the unstoppable monster who refused to cease in his pursuit of them.

A pursuit that would only end one way; Doomsday had chased them right into the outskirts of the Metropolis battle. Some heroes and villains were still brawling with each other there, like they were unable to stop.

"You know, when this is over, I think I'll make new life plans! Keep fighting even in a wheelchair! God knows the next generation needs more time!" Green Arrow said.

"Oh cram it with walnuts old man!" Speedy II said, as the four continued their futile escape, the last of their arrows thudding impotently into Doomsday.

"…run Mia…" Arsenal said, and in his eyes Speedy III saw that her older namesake was planning to die for her. To give up the remaining years he had, years she might not have due to her HIV-positive status. To leave behind his daughter. Because he didn't want her to die.

Speedy III saw the same in her mentor, Green Arrow. Even her name-thief Speedy II refused to back down, though whether it was by stubbornness or a legitimate streak of nobility, she didn't know. But none of them refused to break and run.

Neither would she.

Doomsday was closing in, and this time the archers were out of ways to put some distance between them, as his stomping footsteps disrupted the ground, and caused Arsenal and Speedy II to fall at Green Arrow's feet, Speedy III being driven to one knee.

"…well, what NOW, old man?" Speedy II said dully.

Green Arrow had a second to answer.

In that second, he remembered why you never lost hope.

"Look up in the sky, kid."

Superman and Kal-L rammed into Doomsday, carrying him away from the archers as they hammered on the alien monster. Any proper observer would have almost seen Doomsday's eyes light up.

"MRRRRR-TROP-PLSSSSSS!"

Doomsday's punch sent Superman flying, but unlike the other battles they had fought, there was not just one Man of Steel bringing his strength to bear. Doomsday quickly learned that despite his advanced age, Kal-L's strength was nowhere near lesser for it, as Doomsday punched at him.

Kal-L stopped the blow cold, Doomsday's bone knuckles shattering in his grip.

"I don't think so, monster." Kal-L said, and seized Doomsday's head before he driving his knee into the alien's massive chest, flooring the creature as he staggered back. The Titans had mustered a mighty effort, but even their best was nothing compared to the strength of two kryptonians, as Superman returned and joined Kal-L in a furious, unrelenting assault.

For all his power, for all his invincibility, the Titans had worn Doomsday down some.

For all they'd suffered at his hands, Superman or Kal-L had learned not to hold back. And neither was in the slightest.

For all of them, they brought it to bear.

A twin combined punch shook the area and sent Doomsday flying, his jaw nearly ripped from his head. He smashed into the ground with another thunderous impact.

He did not rise again. His reign of terror was over.

For a moment, all the heroes and villains stopped and looked, some in astonished hope, others in anger or mortal fear.

The Arctic heroes had finally arrived. Batman. Wonder Woman. Nightwing. Power Girl. The Green Lanterns Hal Jordon and John Stewart. The Ray,. Lady Quark. Wonder Girl. Kal-L.

And Metropolis's favorite son.

"They _**murdered**_ Superboy. And now they claim they're going to take _**MY**_ city." Superman said, looking with black disgust and hate at the terrible damage that had befallen his adopted home, and the heroes who had so nobly defended it in his never-should-have-happened absence. He did not know all the details, or what precisely had changed. But he knew enough.

"Then…they're going to take _**Earth**_."

He knew what to do, as his fellow soldiers gathered around him.

"I SAY…"

And charged.

"_**LIKE HELL.**__**"

* * *

**_In the skies in the distance, the Lord felt the ripple, and turned his gaze towards the distant sight.

Masses of black power and white mist shone and tore through the air around him and the clouds above. He blinked as he took this latest turn in.

"…the world's finest."

Once more, a ghost of a smirk crossed his face.

"Henh."


	16. The Dark Age: Fearful Symmetry

The Dark Age: Fearful Symmetry

_Tyger! Tyger! burning bright  
In the forests of the night,  
What immortal hand or eye  
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? _

Years ago, Virgil Hawkins had been given an English assignment in which he was instructed to write a brief essay about what scared him the most. Virgil had penned concerns about drugs and gang warfare, gotten a B+, then forgotten about it. When he'd dug it up during a room cleaning a few years later, Virgil's life had changed considerably. One night, he'd contemplated the question anew, coming to the conclusion that the worst thing he could think of were his family and friends being harmed because of his new 'job'. Heartless 'bangers' were one thing, but a sadistic metahuman with a grudge suggested things no sane person should ever have to think about. Static did his best to keep his identity secret; any more thoughts on the matter was likely just additional stress he didn't need.

Some time later, while hanging out with the Titans, Static had jokingly asked why they let 'the weakling' Robin be their leader. Their answer had boiled down to the fact that he thought of things they never did, could, or wanted to, a lesson taught from his mentor. The serious nature of the initial conversation had swiftly snowballed into a comical debate over all the ridiculous things Batman was prepared for. Static always felt his solution for Bigfoot zombies (convince them they don't exist on two counts) had been ingenious.

Some might say that considering these experiences, Static could have been better prepared for the hell that awaited him at the Battle of Metropolis. Static would have informed those people that while the event of your friend betraying you was possible, and that them dying was also conceivable, who would consider a scenario where both events occurred?

Who would consider that there was something even worse?

"_KILL ME!__"_ The thing that had once been his best friend Gear rasped (mentally, Static had dubbed it Not-Gear, or Near), as it clawed at Static's throat. The hero dodged out of the way, gritting his teeth to fight back tears. The words were not spoken as a desperate plea from his friend, but as a brutal taunt from the entity within his body, an entity that knew just how to twist the knife and didn't know when to stop. Why would it? What was the worst thing Static could do?

"You won't win!" Static said, charging electrical energy between his fingers. He refused to believe that the situation could only be resolved in tragedy, for himself or his best friend. He also knew more about his powers than just tossing lightning around: maybe he could 'defibrillate' his best friend's systems, lock his muscles and nerves up and force the creature to abandon his body. Then he could deal with it, and maybe get Gear to a hospital. There had to be a chance, had to be…

"I WON'T LET YOU!"

Static's power blazed from his fingers with the declaration, arcing out and striking Gear's body. Near jerked about a moment, thrashing in the power's grip before hunching over.

"…ha. Nice try, but I'm afraid it's not that simple." Near cackled. "The only simple here…is BLOOD SIMPLE."

A spear of shadow shot from Near's palm; Static dodged to the side and countered with another attempted stun barrage.

"That won't work! This body is mine, and you will never have what was back!" Near yelled, firing more spears of shadow at Static. "Cry! Suffer! Lament! Hell has come for your idiotic head!"

"Oh god, I don't know what's worse: you, or your taunting skill level!" Static retorted, weaving through the attacks.

"Ah, trying to battle through your grief with glib comments. How very much like you child heroes. Believing some witty banter can cover the pain of a wasted, futile life!"

"Oh for the love of, SHUT UP!" Static yelled. "I've heard this same crap from everyone from punk lowlifes to city-flattening behemoths, and you know what? I'M STILL HERE!"

"Not for long!" Near snarled, as he tossed several of Gear's concussion bombs. Dark energy glowed on them before they exploded, this time spewing forth a barrage of slashing crescent blades. Static went into another dodging frenzy, but there were simply too many projectiles to avoid. He dropped back down, hissing through his teeth at the several burning cuts that had been sliced across his body.

"If you only knew some things…" Near cackled once more. "The things this corpse sometimes thought of you, deep within. How envious and spiteful your sister would be if she knew the truth. The desire of your father for you to quit, lest you die like your IDIOT MOTHER!"

Electricity blazed in Static's eyes,.

"SHUT! UP!!!!!!!!!!!"

The electrical blast blew Near off his feet, sending him bouncing along the ground. Static came to his senses a moment later, looking in horror at what he had done.

Scorched and burning, Near slid back up his feet, snickering through twitching muscles.

"You're beginning to understand."

"…I won't give up. You're a liar, and I'm going to prove it!" Static said.

"And I am going to kill you. Then your family. Then your friends. Then anyone else I can find. Kill me, you fool."

Gear's back abruptly ripped open, as a scorpion-esque tail of shadow emerged. Near crouched down on all fours, flicking his tongue over bloody, cracked lips.

"Bear the chains your kind have hoisted. Be crushed under them. SCREAM!"

Static charged more electricity on his hands, his eyes grim and no reply given. Near cackled madly, and leapt to the attack again.

* * *

Where some battles treaded closer to a dangerous edge, others were drawing back from it.

"Superman! Me was not told that…!"

Superman crashed against Bizzaro as hard as he could, having no time to listen to his imperfect clone's nonsense.

"Ow! He not hit me!"

Kal-L followed up with his own tremendous blow immediately afterward.

"Ow! He not hit me too!" Bizzaro groaned, crashing to the ground and passing out.

"Your move Cain." Batman said, as he and Nightwing menaced one of the world's greatest assassins. Batman would have appreciated Robin being there to cover a further angle, but he wasn't, so Batman would have to make do. Even though that meant Cain had a gun for each of them.

"Oh no, I believe I am quite content how I…" Cain began.

Batarangs and 'Wing-Dings' went flying at the killer: he shot them out of the air and received a fist to the mouth for his troubles, moments before Nightwing leapt in and kicked him in the back of the head.

"Jordan! At last! I shall-ARRRGHHHHHHHHHH!" Sinestro bellowed as Hal Jordan let him have it with the mightiest force blast he could muster. "If that is all…!"

John Stewart added his own efforts to the attack, and Sinestro went crashing through a fallen building, screaming alien curses the whole way. He'd thought he was done feeling the brunt of _that _ring.

"RAAAOOWWW!" Cheetah hissed, as Wonder Girl wrapped her lasso around the bloodthirsty lunatic's neck before cutting loose with the destructive power of Zeus. Cheetah's hair and fur stood on end, but she hardly slowed down at all, clawing at Wonder Girl's eyes before Wonder Woman smashed her fist into the back of Cheetah's skull. It just made Cheetah switch targets, as the two Amazons battled their long-time enemy.

"It's good to fight with heroes again." Kal-L said, briefly watching Dr. Light II, The Ray, and Black Canary overwhelm the Shadow Thief with light and sound before he joined the efforts of Power Girl, Wildcat, Plastic Man, and Dr. Mid-Nite to thrash the not-finished-yet cloning villain Multiplex. "Good to fight with the Society."

"…who _is _that?" Wildcat said.

"Who do you think, Wildcat?" Power Girl said. Wildcat paused a moment.

"…I…I think I remember. That's _**him.**_" Wildcat said, as he realized his memories were different. Old ones, once erased, had returned, of many worlds and the changes that had occurred there. He remember events, team-ups, and heroes, things once lost to existence, seemingly forever.

"Yep." Power Girl said with a note of pride. "He's _**OUR**_ Superm-"

The crashing body cut Power Girl's words off. She jerked her head towards the fallen, winged form, the body covered with terrible burns.

"…Carter?" Wildcat said, as he looked at the form of his teammate Hawkman. The winged avenger struggled to get to his feet; he failed, collapsing to one knee as Dr. Mid-Nite and Wildcat ran to help him.

Power Girl was as stunned as Wildcat. Carter Hall was a warrior without peer. Whoever had done this…

The second body crashed down. Power Girl blinked in renewed surprise, and then attended to her. She did not know who it was, but from the injuries she was covered in…

"Help us…" Sparx whimpered, reaching out towards the heroine. "Help…he's…he's unstoppable…"

"What?" Power Girl said. Kal-L landed nearby, looking at the two injured.

The nearby rubble crumbled, and Abhorred surged down on the arriving heroes like a wave of choking death.

* * *

Flashes of power crackled through the midnight black clouds, as the Lord floated on the air and regarded his efforts. His enemies had gone from problematic to paltry, and that didn't seem like it would be changing any time soon. It was almost worth the downsides of the Sorceress merge, downsides he was certain would also prove troublesome later. This, however, was now.

The Lord raised his hand, rolling his bloody fingers before he brought them under his nose and inhaled softly. Ah, fresh blood. Finer than any perfume.

"Do keep coming. I am quite content to keep breaking you until you get the message." The Lord said. "Who's next?"

Black Adam hit the Lord so hard he nearly tore his head off.

"Of course, your breed do have some-" Was all the Lord got out before Black Adam floored him again.

"I am FINISHED wasting time with your rabble! I shall tear the head off the snake, and be done with it!" Black Adam bellowed, flying in to punch again. This time, the Lord dodged.

"You speak of slaying serpents, Teth-Adam? Perhaps you should remove your own head first." The Lord said. "Perhaps I have committed betrayal in my time, but I was never so weak to betray my own principles."

"SILENCE! DO NOT SPEAK ON MATTERS YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND!" Black Adam bellowed, lancing towards the Lord again. The Lord once again dodged.

"Why? Do I lie?" The Lord said. "What need has a god to lie?"

"You call yourself a GOD?" Black Adam thundered, his knuckles going white as he clenched his fist. "Let me show you the power of a MULTITUDE OF GODS!"

Black Adam blazed at the Lord.

The Lord backhanded him so hard he split the cloud cover above him. Black Adam crashed down in Metropolis Bay several miles distant a few seconds later.

"It's quality, not quantity." The Lord said. "Your pantheons fled in terror before the power of the child in the dirt below. I felled him. What does that say of your so-called might, Adam?"

"That you talk too much." Looker answered. A moment later she, Steel III, Firehawk, Breach, Stargirl, and Jack Knight opened fire at the same time. The combined blast exploded against the Lord.

He didn't move an inch, even as the power surged and burned against him. Stargirl's eyes went wide: The Lord had apparently gotten rid of his 'issues' with her powers.

"Oh poopy."

"Only because you don't listen." The Lord said, raising the very arm that was engulfed in the blast.

He thrust it out, and black power surged out tenfold, consuming the combined attack and then the attackers, another detonation sounding across the sky.

"You know what is said about those who do not learn from…" The Lord began.

Firehawk lanced at him from the side, shrieking wordless defiance.

"Stop." The Lord said, gesturing at her.

Firehawk did just that.

So did the world.

Firehawk, realizing her predicament, furiously struggled for a few seconds before she realized both her range of motion and her powers were completely gone. Fear bloomed in her eyes as the Lord floated over.

Strangely though, he did not look angry, amused, or disgusted. Rather, he looked…inquisitive.

"I do not know you." The Lord said. "We have never crossed paths before…Lorraine. I have not fought your ally Firestorm. Yet you refuse to give up your focus on me. Why is that?"

"You're the BAD GUY! That's how it's SUPPOSED to happen!" Firehawk spat.

"Not like this. You are one hero among many others. I have struck you down several times already. It is within logic and reason to alter one's efforts. Instead, you continue attacking me."

"YOU MADE ME _KILL A MAN YOU __**BASTARD**__…__!__"_

"_I _redirected your shot. _I _initiated a phase-shift on its essence to bypass the man's invulnerability. _I_ killed a man, child. You were barely a catalyst. Had I fallen by now, that is surely the ratiocination you would have used to sleep at night." The Lord said. "No…there's something else here. Something else drives you. Something…even you're not fully aware of."

Firehawk just glared at the Lord, trying to struggle free again while doing so and discovering her body was still frozen.

"…ahhhhhhh." The Lord said. "You were there. With Dibny, the night his wife was murdered and everything began to go downhill for you heroes. When all the darkness began to creep in. You saw what I did, what I am…and you subconsciously linked that darkness to me. In your heart, you see me as a manifestation of the events that killed Sue and Ronnie. The events that struck so deeply at the heart of your cause."

Firehawk had no answer. The Lord leaned down to look into her eyes.

"What if I _was _the reason?"

Firehawk couldn't conceal her surprise behind a mask.

"Were there not inconsistencies in the events that Loring initiated? Inexplicable turns of mind, of motive? Strange ineptitude in the preparations and efforts of the best and the brightest? Would it not make more sense if there was some guiding hand behind it all, to compensate for the failings that should have undone the whole incident far sooner?"

The ghostly smirk crossed over the Lord's face.

"Isn't the hardest crime to solve the one where the perpetrator had no connection to the victim at all?"

Firehawk found she could move again, somehow. She screamed and lashed out with a flaming hand.

The Lord wasn't there any more though. He was a dozen feet away, the world still frozen.

"Or maybe I'm lying through my teeth." The Lord said. "Myself, involved in the events that have lead to this? Maybe that's just too convenient. You tell me."

Firehawk fired another blast at the Lord. He dodged away, the world still frozen around them. Firehawk tried to cover the tears from her eyes with rage, firing blast after blast at the Lord, but none of her attacks came close to hitting him.

"Doubt. In a way, that's your cruelest cross to bear. I may have had need to re-evaluate my goals, but I have never questioned myself. That's all you heroes do when all is said and done. Question. Ponder. Torment yourself over what could have been, what might have been, what you will never know for certain. Doubt. If you had to carve one word on your cause's tombstone, it should be that."

Firehawk's latest blast phased through the Lord's shadow essence. A moment later, he was in front of her.

"Well, two words."

The Lord's finger lanced out as an extending blade, burying itself in Firehawk's abdomen. She gasped in shock.

Moments later, a numb coldness began seeping into her, an unnatural paralysis that stole her strength away before she could utilize it against her enemy.

"Doubt. And pain." The Lord said.

The world was moving again, but Firehawk barely noticed. The Lord chuckled darkly.

"Tell Ronnie there's never any end to the price you pay." The Lord said. "No fire can light the darkness."

The kick knocked Firehawk off the Lord's finger blade and sent her plummeting towards the ground.

She landed in the arms of Hyperion first.

"Get her out of here!" Hyperion yelled, as he passed her to a CESTUS unit that was accompanying him. His other reinforcements gathered around him, most of them riding on a rock platform provided by Geo-Force.

"All right punk. I'm going to beat you like a red-headed stepchild at a stepfather convention." General Havoc said, cracking his knuckles.

"Too late." The Lord said.

A beat passed.

Another passed as well.

The CESTUS unit retreated with Firehawk, as the Lord floated there. Victory Lad, who had very good eyes, noticed the shadow creature's brows were knitted in confusion.

"Oh, she's not going to explode? I thought being an attempted Firestorm clone she would explode." The Lord said. "My, how red my face is. Metaphorically speaking anyway."

"PLAN GAMMA! GET THE SHADOW DEMON!" Hyperion yelled, as the Liberty League and MSG charged in.

"Shadow GOD." The Lord replied, unable to keep the petulance out of his voice.

"Only in your dreams, madman! We-!"

"Bored now."

The Lord thrust out his hands and a thousand black dots appeared around him, each dot becoming a needle-thin blast that flew out and rained down on the attacking metahumans, consuming them in explosions that detonated across the sky and further enveloped the shattered ground.

"This really _is _all you have to offer." The Lord sighed, continuing to destroy everything in his line of sight. "No wonder so many villains go mad. The redundancy alone would…"

Strong arms wrapped around the Lord, yanking his hands up as Mary Marvel locked the shadow deity in a full nelson, fighting through the burning pain she felt just touching the Lord's body.

"GET HIM FREDDY!"

"TAKE THIS!" Captain Marvel Jr yelled as he dropped down and lanced towards the firmly-held Lord.

"Enough. This well is dry." The Lord said. He could have broken free of the grip, but he had a better idea.

He used it, as he lunged forward, flipping his whole body over. Mary Marvel went with him, her eyes going wide with shock.

The same look was mirrored on Captain Marvel Junior's face, as his fist slammed into his teammate's back.

"MARY!" He cried, as the Lord slipped out of the broken clutch and surged backwards, both Marvels frozen for a second in pain or shock. A second was all he needed.

"Here's your broken crown, Jack." The Lord said, and fired a building sized blast that enveloped both Marvels, blowing them across the sky and over the horizon.

"The world's mightiest mortals. It shows."

Screaming, Black Adam lanced in.

He slammed into the Lord's hand.

"_**MAZAHS!**__**"**_

Black lightning tore from the clouds above and struck Black Adam, who emitted another scream as he vanished in the grip of their power. When it faded, the Lord was holding a slightly smaller man in archeologist-style clothes.

"…Huh, didn't actually think that would work. Interesting." The Lord said. Teth-Adam stared at the Lord in complete astonishment, unable to grasp that the Lord had somehow manipulated magical forces great enough to reverse his transformation.

"…_**SHAZ-!**__**"**_

The Lord rammed his fingers into Teth-Adam's throat, turning his magical transformation word into an agonized wheeze. Teth-Adam tried to draw air back into his lungs and speak anew, only to find his vocal cords were paralyzed. He was cut off from his power.

"It's never where you think it will come from, is it, mortal?" The Lord said. "Death. Pain. The end. Always from the blind spot. Maybe if you actually considered that, things would be different. Then again…"

The Lord let Adam go. He fell, silently screaming.

"Understanding the gravity of the world is never easy. Not until you're in it's grip." The Lord said. He didn't watch Adam's fall: the de-powered mortal was no longer worth his interest.

Nothing was, it seemed. With Ithlian's full power at his command, he could warp time and space to his whim. Why not just shunt all his enemies into the nearest black hole, or tweak history so that they suffered spontaneous fatal aneurysms? Wouldn't that be the easiest way to proceed? Wouldn't that be practical?

It would…

However, it would also be so…unsatisfying.

That had been what had done in Ithlian, after all. Despite all her raw power, she had always lacked a certain psychology, a certain…imagination. Even so, it went against his core creed. It deeply irritated the Lord: for all his efforts, the 'heroes' of this world had poisoned him. He couldn't just kill them. If he did, his victory would seem hollow, his indemnification lacking, and slowly but surely that fact would eat away at him and all his other accomplishments.

He had to make sure they felt it. Anything else would be a mercy.

Well, if that was how it had to go…

The giant ball of flaming metal interrupted the Lord's thoughts. He blew it out of the sky before it reached him.

Apparently, some heroes still hadn't gotten the message. Despite himself, the Lord smirked again.

Heroes.

They always answered his questions for him.

* * *

"Did we get him?" Claudio "Pyrogen" Teili said, scanning the skies.

"I can't see. We hit something…" Mitch "Outburst" Anderson replied, trying to spot specifics against the dark clouds above his team.

"The Supermen of America."

The Supermen jerked in surprise, turning towards where the Lord now stood.

"I thought the OMAC's wiped you out." The Lord said.

"You thought wrong, ass clown." Max "Maximum" Williams said as he cracked his knuckles. The Lord felt a twinge of déjà vu. If only they knew just how history was going to repeat itself…

"I can see you there." The Lord said, his black eyes glimmering. There was a pause, and then the family-based team known as the Relative Heroes emerged from the darkness cast by some wrecked buildings.

"You should have stayed in limbo." The Lord said.

"…the only way for evil to win…" Team leader Houston began.

"Is for good men to do nothing. Yes, so I've heard." The Lord said. "There is nothing you 'good men' can do."

"We'll be the judge of that." Outburst said. The Lord chuckled again.

"Supermen of America." The Lord said. "Right."

"GET HIM!"

Twin blasts of fire, a blast of electricity, and another magnetically hurled chunk of metal shot at the Lord. A dark dome encased him, and the attacks impacted impotently on it.

"Allow me to grant you some final words of wisdom. Job 12:22, in the King James Bible to be precise." The Lord said. "He discovered deep things out of darkness…"

The black glittered in his gaze.

"And bringeth out to light the shadow of death."

* * *

_In what distant deeps or skies  
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?  
On what wings dare he aspire?  
What the hand dare seize the fire?

* * *

_

Wonder Girl didn't know what was going on any more.

She also didn't know if this was an improvement. Mere minutes ago, she would have done anything to rid herself of the deep, wrenching heartache that had consumed her…but as a certain love ballad went, she didn't know if she would have done this.

Conner, her first love. Even the heroic nature of his sacrifice didn't numb the terrible pain. When Wonder Woman had comforted her, up in the Arctic, part of Cassie had wanted to punch her face in and rail on her for her for the older heroes' failure to prevent Conner's death. They were the champions, the vanguards, and they'd dropped the ball.

The other part of Wonder Girl, which won out, knew that such an action was unnecessary. That fact, that truth, was written all over the superheroes' faces.

In a way, they'd carry a deeper burden then she would. She had loved him, and she would always have that. For many of them, all they would ever have was their failure.

When word had finally reached them of the Battle of Metropolis, her immediate actions were decided. She would go there. She would protect the world against the forces Conner had died fighting. It would be what he wanted. And if she found the hands of those who had killed her love behind this last war, then God help them.

It had seemed simple then.

Then she'd arrived, and the shadow creatures had swarmed on them.

Life. It could never be simple for them. Not even in the ways of divertissement.

"WHAT IN THE HELL ARE _THESE?"_ Lady Quark snarled, as she blasted her nuclear force bolts through the nearest Abhorred. "After all we've endured, has the Anti-Monitor returned to plague us as well?"

Wonder Girl's response was cut off as an Abhorred lashed out, slicing open a shallow wound on her stomach. She seized it in her lasso in return, blasting it apart with Zeus' lightning. Grimacing, she clutched at her injury. She remembered this touch.

"…it's not the Anti-Monitor." Wonder Girl said. "Why did he…how…why won't he STAY DEAD?"

"Keep your head, Cassandra!" Wonder Woman ordered, slicing the Abhorred that had been sneaking up on Wonder Girl in half with her sword. Wonder Girl grimaced again. All this, and the Lord as well.

Maybe that murderer Prime had been on to something. Maybe the world was hopelessly corrupt. How much longer could she fight, before her energies ran out…

_NO._

Conner had died believing otherwise. She would not shame his memory. She would not join him through selfish weakness. She was an Amazon. She was a godchild. SHE WOULD FIGHT.

"Ray! RAY!" Wonder Girl yelled, leaping and kicking an Abhorred away in the process.

"WHAT?" The Ray yelled back, blazing through his own Abhorred.

"Alter your light powers to the solar wavelength! These things likely can't stand the sun!"

"Then why isn't anyone DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THOSE CLOUDS?!" The Ray yelled, even as he did as Wonder Girl commanded and refracted his light-based blasts. The difference became clear immediately: his previous blasts had had a concussive effect, whereas his new attacks burned through the entities like a hot knife through butter. "Hey, you were right! Quark! You control radiation, try and fire it along the UV wavelength! And someone answer me WHY NO ONE IS DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THOSE CLOUDS!"

"Good _question!_" Power Girl snarled as she tore apart the several attacking Abhorred that menaced her. She'd noticed herself that she was having an easier time handling the creatures then Wonder Woman was: Wonder Girl's orders had clarified just why. Her solar-charged powers wouldn't hold out forever though, especially with pitch-black clouds constantly dropping new hordes of the creatures in.

"I think I'll get some answers!" Power Girl said, taking to the sky and lancing towards the clouds. "Hey! Clouds! You're in my…!"

The gigantic black bolt exploded from within the seething maelstrom above Metropolis, striking down Power Girl.

"LIAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHH!" Power Girl screamed as she was forcibly re-introduced to the ground, the bolt of malignant energy dragging her along the shattered streets before exploding.

"KARA!" Kal-L yelled, vaporizing a group of Abhorred with heat vision before flying over to the smoking crater where Power Girl now lay. His help was unneeded though, as Power Girl was already clawing her way out, coughing on dust. Black smoke drifted off her body; Kal-L could already see burns forming on her face and exposed legs.

"That…stung, ow." Power Girl rasped. "It's magic, Kal. Damn nasty magic. Whatever's formed those clouds is seething with it."

"I thought magic was reduced to a raw state! That it was uncertain, chaotic! How did he get it to work for him?!" Wonder Girl interjected, having landed near the pair herself.

"Apparently someone didn't get the memo." Power Girl replied, as she spat black saliva on the ground. "Who's HIM?"

"…The Lord. A would-be shadow god, and one of the nastiest sons of…female dogs I've ever crossed swords with." Wonder Girl said. "If he's running around…where's Superman? I mean, our Superman?"

"…I saw him briefly, moments ago." Kal-L said. "He…"

Snarling in psychotic fury, more Abhorred surged down onto the three, cutting off Kal-L before he could finish. The three fought back furiously, their actions mirroring the sole driving force that had sent Superman off.

Save the day.

* * *

The darkness, however, would yet snuff out the dawn…

_Gone…_

"RAAUUUAGGGHHHHH!" Sand bellowed, his body transformed into a seething mass of silicate merged with countless tons of rock and stone. Its mass fell over the Lord, sending the tide of crushing doom down on him.

It exploded into a billion scattered pieces in mid fall, revealing the Lord now with one hand raised.

"Not quite an Imperial funeral." The Lord said.

Josiah Power slammed down his fists from behind the Lord. The Lord moved his raised hand fully up, stopping the attack with one finger.

"Not quite up to his assessment."

Powers sidestepped away from the Lord's spinning blow, lancing in with another punch.

It never reached the Lord, as he snapped his fingers and time stopped. The Lord phased in front of Powers, locked in frozen surprise, and then sighed, phasing behind Powers as a myriad of black energy spears appeared all around Powers.

The remains of the Power Company never knew what happened: one moment their leader was attacking, and the next he was consumed in an explosion as the Lord walked away.

_So many dead…_

Screaming, Bulleteer flew in from behind the Lord. He gestured without looking, and a column of black energy erupted from the ground and blew Bulleteer away.

"Not worth a glance."

Witchfire and Sapphire lashed out themselves, hammering the Lord with mystical flame and ultra-dense crystal projectiles. They may as well have been throwing paper airplanes.

"Not worth a try." The Lord said, turning his arm towards them. The women's eyes widened.

"CANDY!" Bork yelled, as he threw himself between the Lord and the two women.

He took the attack full to the back, as the Lord fired a giant multi-faceted blast that hurled Bork into the two women and ripped everything around and behind them apart for several dozen meters.

"Not worth much of anything." The Lord said as he walked on.

"Carl?" Candace "Sapphire" Gennaro, as she struggled out from under her teammate's weight. "Carl? Are you…?"

Sapphire's words trailed off, as she saw how little was left of Bork's back. He was gone.

In the end, all Sapphire could do was weep.

_Again, and again…save one._

"WE'RE NOT DONE YET YOU…!" Hyperion bellowed as he lanced at the Lord.

"Worthless." The Lord said, lashing out a finger and slashing a bloody line across Hyperion's chest as he was sent screaming into some rubble.

"I'M GONNA…!" General Havoc roared as he charged in from the other side.

"Worthless." The Lord echoed, doing the exact same thing to Havoc. The rest of the two teams swarmed towards him regardless; irritation shot across his gaze.

"WORTHLESS!" The Lord snarled, slashing outward with both fingers and scattering the Liberty League and MSG in a storm of screams and debris. "You will learn this. YOU WILL _LEARN_…"

Stellar energy rained down on the Lord again. He snarled and looked to the sky, where Jack Knight and Stargirl fought desperately to prevent any more death.

"You." The Lord said, and thrust back his arm. "I _**owe**_ you!"

_Outburst…Mitch…_

_A lifetime ago, Superman had saved Mitch Anderson and his family from Doomsday's rampage. Some time later, Mitch had told Superman in shame how immature and petty he'd been before then, even mocking Superman to his friends. Superman had assured him that no one was born perfect, and that it was better to learn from your mistakes then to never make them. Mitch had learned better then most: upon the manifestation of his metahuman powers, he'd gathered a team of young people to follow in Superman's footsteps. They'd even named themselves the Supermen of America._

_Dead now, like so many others._

_Save Mitch._

"_Sir…" Outburst whispered, blood leaking from his mouth and from the seven ugly wounds on his chest._

_He would not be alone for long._

"LOOK OUT!" Jack Knight yelled as the Lord unleashed his person-sized black energy sphere. It flew towards the two, as they countered with stellar blasts.

They did nothing. Nothing at all.

Like they would soon be…

"_Sir…I'm so sorry…"_

"_Don't talk son. Just hold on. I'll…we'll…"_

"_I'm sorry…I should have done more…I should have done more…"_

"_Save your strength, don't…"_

"_Save the world…" Outburst whispered._

"NO!"

STRIPE came out of nowhere, placing himself between the attack and the pair, and as Courtney's eyes filled with horror the attack consumed him, his defiant cry snuffed out a second later.

"DAD!" She screamed.

Jack barely caught Pat Dugan with his power, as the shattered remains of the armored suit that had housed a man fell backwards, the suit destroyed and Pat not looking good for it.

"Dad…!" Stargirl whispered.

"_Son…"_

"_I understand…I…always hope…" Outburst whispered, blood bubbling from his mouth. "Do…what you have to…save the world…save the…wor…"_

_Gone._

_Like so many, gone._

"Get my daughter out of here Jack. Go. GO!" Pat rasped.

"You're not going ANYWHERE!" The Lord snarled, greatly aggrieved by the last second save, as vicious talons elongated from his finders once more. "I'll make sure of it. WITH MY OWN HAND!"

…_no more._

Like a bat out of hell, the Lord lanced upward towards the three.

_NO…_

He barely saw the blur.

_**MORE!!!!!**_

Not until the blur had seized his arm at the wrist, stopping him dead. The Lord stared at the hand for a second, and then looked up into Superman's eyes.

Staring, for a moment, at the immeasurable rage within.

"Oh."

The sound of the blow drowned out everything else, including Superman's bellow of rage, as the Man of Steel punched the Lord across the face: the crack of thunder from the attack nearly deafened the three heroes behind and above him as well. The Lord hit the ground like a meteor, impacting so hard he not only smashed a new crater into the ground, but forcibly displaced a massive tower of stone that stabbed into the air, pieces breaking off the protrusion and falling into the massive dust cloud at its base.

"…hey man. Thanks." Jack said. "You got here just in time."

"No." Superman said, briefly glancing towards the trio, scanning Pat Dugan. "He's seriously hurt. Get him to safety. Tell everyone to keep clear of the area."

To Jack Knight, the sound of Superman's knuckles cracking as he clenched his fist seemed as loud as the punch he'd unleashed against the Lord.

"I'll handle this from here."

In a microsecond Superman was at the impact site where the Lord had landed, scanning everywhere to find his enemy. Jack Knight and Stargirl listened, extracting Dugan from the ruins of his suit and carrying him away, as Superman played his incredible eyes over the shattered ruins around and below him. He would not escape, nor hide…

"_Kryptonian!"_

Of course. He was outright calling Superman to his location. That was what arrogant madmen did, as Superman looked up at the mental call, using teachings he'd learned from J'onn to try and get a general idea of the direction of the telepathy.

"_How nice of you to finally show up. What kept you? You weren't eaten by a giant snake, were you? That would be strange even for…"_

THERE.

A sonic boom sounded as Superman blazed across the ruins of Metropolis, lancing right towards where the Lord stood. The look of surprise and alarm on the Lord's face was quite evident.

A look mirrored on Superman's face as he flew into the altered chrono-stream field the Lord had projected around himself, turning his sub-luminal dash into a snail's crawl by comparison. Even _with _the field, Superman was going so fast he nearly caught the Lord anyway, as the shadow god was forced to raise one hand and manifest a glyph in the air that froze Superman completely.

Locked in place, Superman could now see precisely where the Lord was standing.

The Daily Planet. Somehow, despite the ruination that had been brought to Metropolis, it was still standing. The Lord had positioned himself on the now-stationary globe that adorned the top of the building, Superman a mere two feet from him.

"…well met, alien. You'd have had me if I was less prepared." The Lord said, lowering his hand. "Of course, your track record hasn't been in the wins column for some time now."

Superman just glared, his defiance even fiercer then Firehawk's. The Lord wasn't much surprised.

"You don't have a chance you know. That idiot child was your better by an immense degree, AND impervious to magical harm. Now he's just another corpse, like all the others I left strewn across your city." The Lord said. "I'm sure some would criticize my efforts in regards to that, but I know better. THEY may say 'The Lord did nothing, he killed a group of has-beens and never-were's, he didn't kill anyone IMPORTANT'…but you'll know what they did. You'll know what they sacrificed. You'll never forget. Yet the people you protect will hold their deaths in disdain and contempt, if they even bother to learn the dead's names at all. This is the world you claim to protect. This is the world you will realize is lost."

Blackness began to radiate out from the Lord's feet, surging across and engulfing the trademark icon. At the same time, tendrils of black power began coursing down from the clouds, surging into the Lord.

"You are not what the world needs. I'd say this is a more than fitting metaphor for what _is_ needed. Not that you would ever accept that." The Lord said. "So be it."

The robes on the Lord began to part, snapping off at the Lord's neck and floating just behind his head, leaving him dressed in simple black armor. All the while, Superman's gaze never faltered.

"Lay on, Macduff." The Lord said. "And damn'd be him that first cries 'Hold, ENOUGH!'"

The chrono-stasis ceased. At the same time, the clouds shifted once more, and the flow of Abhorred from them ceased in turn. Superman lanced forward.

Somehow, the Lord was faster.

The force struck Superman, sending him flying backwards across the skies in a tumble. He swiftly righted himself, only to find the Daily Planet globe being hurled at him immediately thereafter, crackling with dark energies.

"Sorry Perry." Superman whispered, and punched the giant orb. It shattered into pieces, but the energies coursing across it found a new target as they arched off and slammed into Superman. He hissed between his teeth, but he didn't budge…

Before the Lord flew through the still-scattering wreckage and crashed into Superman, and the two went tumbling down into the guts of Metropolis.

* * *

_And what shoulder, & what art.  
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?  
And when thy heart began to beat,  
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

* * *

_

Static felt at least two ribs snap as he was slammed against the wall by the shadow tail of Near, the bladed end having split apart into several crushing tentacles that had seized him and pinned him against the wall like a butterfly under glass. He coughed, feeling blood trickle out from his mouth and his broken nose.

He'd tried. He'd tried to separate his best friend Richie from the abomination that now wore his body. He'd tried to fight, to find some way to save Gear, or at the least, save himself. But he couldn't. He couldn't make the proper disconnect.

Near had no such qualms. The sadistic grin on his face showed that he couldn't even comprehend the concept of qualms. Just one sole driving force: destroy. In any and all aspects.

"Last chance fool. Kill me." Near rasped.

Static's survival instincts screamed at him to cut loose and destroy Richie's body, but his heart roared back with defiance at the concept. He raised an arm despite the internal war, calling on his power…but all he mustered were a few weak arcs of electricity that Near barely seemed to notice.

"So you see the idiocy of your burden in the end!" Near cackled, as a long blade of shadow appeared on his primary finger. "It snarls even your most primal of instincts! You call yourself something higher then the norm? You are an aberration! A deviant imbecile who thinks dying instead of killing his enemy is somehow BETTER! You go against everything that should be, hero. Your breed will all die for it, like so many already have."

"…I'd rather die…then be something like you." Static coughed.

"Let us see if you still think that in a moment, hero." Near said, as barbs sprouted on his finger claw. "If you will not lead, then this dance is over. YOUR LAST DANCE!"

"…heh." Static said.

A golden energy link seized Near's wrist a second later, stopping his stab cold.

"Sorry, we're cutting in."

Savior thrust out the Shimmer, Raven's power surging along its length in turn, as the living energy slammed into Near's back and erupted through his body. Near's shadow tail dropped Static; a rock platform swiftly rose up underneath him and carried him away as Near thrashed in the Shimmer/soulself grip, screaming an inhuman wail…

That became human once more, as Savior yanked out the Shimmer holding a writhing black shrieking mass. Gear crumpled into Raven's arms as she appeared from the shadows.

"Gauntlet!" Savior yelled as he crammed the shadow mass into the teenager's awaiting energy talent, which clamped down on the entity like a vise.

"Star!" Gauntlet yelled in turn, whirling around and hurling the shadow creature away. Emerald energy flew out, striking the creature: it exploded into pieces with one final scream and vanished.

"Static? You all right?" Robin said as he checked on Static. Static's only reply was a hacking cough.

"…what took you…so long?" The black teenager eventually said.

"We had the weight of the world to deal with." Savior said as he headed over.

"Hey man…I'm not complaining."

Static's eyes widened at the voice, and he sat up to see Gear nearby, sitting near Raven as she healed him. For a moment, Static could just stare.

"Hey man, stop. You'll give me a complex." Gear tried to joke.

"Don't be so impertinent. You are VERY lucky, Mr. Foley. That possessing entity kept your body running enough that I was able to repair your injuries after expelling it. If it had just stabbed you and left, you'd be beyond help. Don't forget that." Raven said, grimacing as she finished her repairs.

"Forget? You think I'll ever forget this?" Gear said quietly.

"That's too far in the other direction. Just count your blessings, child." Scalpel said as he emerged with other Titans, some steady on their feet and others wounded and being helped, like Aqualad. "I performed my head count Robin. We are missing a few, but they are the ones we couldn't contact at all after we were all nearly buried."

"I can't raise them either." Robin said, putting away a battered communicator as Raven began work on Static's injuries.

"Wait a second, where's B?" Terra said, as she realized the green changeling was seemingly absent. "Beast Boy? BEAST BOY!"

"He was underground with us, I saw him a minute before…" Peregrine II said.

"He's alive." Raven said. "I can't pinpoint him, but he's alive."

"You sure?" Terra said, looking sick with worry.

"Surest thing you'll likely get, Terra. What's our first line of business Robin?" Savior asked. "Doomsday seems to have relocated: should we try and hunt him down?"

"No. He's done." Raven said. "I've been trying some other mental scans while looking for Beast Boy. The battlefield has shifted…"

"Should we go after Prime then?" Gauntlet said. The looks on several of the Titans' faces indicated they'd rather do anything but. Robin ignored them: he didn't have a choice.

"No…we…I…" Raven said, and fell silent.

"Well? What?" Terra said.

"…I can't read Prime's life signs. I think he's dead."

Every Titan was united in their stunned look.

"…dead?" Bumblebee squeaked.

"Who in tarnation took him out?" Scorcher said.

"You should know well, cockroaches."

The Titans jumped, their eyes jerking towards the dark figure standing nearby. Robin felt his mouth dry briefly, before he shoved his surprise back down.

"…Lord." Robin said.

"Hello Titans. Not dead again, I see. Strange, I though the Tamaranian was the one descended from felines."

Starfire immediately threw a Starbolt at the shadow being. The explosion of the attack scattered his body, but it swiftly reformed.

"Don't bother, everyone." Raven said as she stood up from Static. "It's just a projection. Not the real him."

"Ohhhhhhhhh, look. Someone finally wised up enough to be scared." Gauntlet said.

"Do be quiet, child." The 'Lord' said.

"Wait, you're right. With your long history of success, you are truly in a position to lecture us." Gauntlet said.

"Times change, children. Streaks end. Fortune eventually turns fick-"

"Blah blah blah, can we get this over with? There are new villains to fight. You know, ones that are actually relevant to the current situation and aren't shoehorned in roughly?" Gauntlet said. The Lord chuckled darkly.

"You would think, given all our experiences, you would have the sense to afford me some respect." The Lord said.

"Oh we respect you. You're just very LOW on the list of things we respect." Robin said.

"Somewhere between Paris Hilton and Keanu Reeves's acting, if I recall correctly." Gauntlet said.

"Ah, Titans. It bears repeating: always so quick with the witticism, the put-down, the dismissal. It still doesn't decrease your risk of dying horribly." The Lord said. "Practice for the moment. I have a more pressing issue."

"…what?" Scalpel blurted as the Lord turned away.

"Oh yes, and there's too many of you." The Lord said, as he raised a hand, snapping his fingers.

Abhorred appeared from nowhere, legions of them, as they swiftly surrounded the battered Titans.

"Separate the chafe, would you?" The Lord said, and disappeared.

"It's times like this that I wish our main enemy was more bumbling." Gauntlet complained.

The Abhorred charged.

"Gauntlet, Terra, Scorcher, Peregrine! Get our wounded together and protect them!" Robin yelled, as he slammed together the two remaining Birdarangs he had to form his sword before snapping out his staff. "EVERYONE ELSE, YOU KNOW THE DRILL!"

The Titans surged out, trying to force themselves past their weary frames. In the end, there was no rest for the virtuous.

* * *

The wicked, however, were not spared, as the Lord took his hand off his head in time for Superman to utterly floor him with another punch, sending him crashing into another pile of rubble.

"If I…"

Another thunderous punch to the Lord's jaw cut off his sentence, smashing him further back into the pile. Superman fired off several more rapid punches before rearing back and letting loose with a explosive right hook that both smashed the Lord through the debris and scattered it to the winds. The Lord bounced across the ground a few times before finding his feet.

"That's your game then?" The Lord said.

A blue flash zapped at him. Even with the Lord's time dilution abilities, the speed was astounding.

Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough.

"Seen. RAISED!" The Lord yelled, and slashed out with his hand. The slashing attack ripped across Superman's body and face, stopping him dead even as the wrecked buildings behind him split apart and tumbled to the ground. Superman yelled as he clutched at his face, his eyes burning, before the Lord slammed his foot into Superman's head and sent him smashing into some rubble in turn.

"Congratulations. I honestly thought that attack might rend you to bits." The Lord said. "Maybe your name…"

The rubble exploded as Superman lanced back out. The Lord dropped into a combat stance before firing a blast at where he calculated Superman would be.

He calculated wrong, as Superman abruptly switched directions. The Lord could only wonder if it had been from speed or tactical thinking before Superman's eyes blazed red.

Unlike Prime's always-piercing, always-devastating rays, Superman could vary the size and intensity of his heat vision. In this case, he didn't hold back on the intensity, as he blasted the Lord with a wide-bore beam that completely engulfed him, the solar fury burning into the Lord's form. The shadow god, however, held his ground, snarling under his breath as the heat vision tore into him.

"Anything you can do…" The Lord said, and drove his hand into the attack. Blackness spewed forth from it, cutting into the wide-range beam as it expanded in turn, meeting and gradually blocking the attack before starting to overwhelm it. The Lord smirked, and then placed his hand on his wrist and concentrated.

The blackness erupted with new overwhelming fury, beating back the heat vision before cutting it off entirely and driving into the figure behind it.

Except that figure was no longer there. While the Lord's blast was vaporizing more wreckage, Superman appeared behind him. The Lord turned around into another cracking punch, stumbling backwards before Superman blasted him in the knees with heat vision and met the Lord's falling form with a furious uppercut that smashed him into the base of another building. The usual collapse occurred.

Superman flew after the Lord, drilling through the rubble for several seconds before he realized the Lord wasn't there. A second later he flew out of the remains before a gigantic blast annihilated it from the sky.

This time, the Lord managed to turn around before Superman caught up to him. The Man of Steel's fist lashed out once more.

This time, the Lord caught it.

"So, did I finally awaken the proper anger in you? The rage you should have felt…"

Superman fired off his other fist. The Lord caught that one as well, holding both of the Kryptonian's wrists in a vice grip.

"Against these worthless sacks of flesh you hold so dear?"

Superman's heat vision surged forth again, but he wasn't the only one who could move fast. Superman's wrists were free a moment before the Lord's phase around and kick from behind sent Superman smashing into the ground. A moment after THAT, a gigantic torrent of destructive blasts rained down on him, consuming several square blocks in a series of explosions.

"You let them drag you down. You let them cripple your potential, throw away all you could do for them. You let them KEEP ON BEING WORTHLESS." The Lord said as he dropped down to the ground. He could see the figure rising in the smoke: he hadn't expected that to be it. "It's funny. Lex Luthor hates you because you supposedly hold humanity back. He doesn't seem to realize that there's nothing for you to actually HOLD BACK."

Superman stood amongst the clearing dust, his baleful eyes betraying little. The Lord smirked.

"Come on Kryptonian! You know I'm telling the truth! Admit it! How long have you been doing this? A decade? What's happened since then? How many times has the world nearly ate itself alive, for one reason or another?" The Lord said. "You aren't going to save them! They don't deserve it! You are ALONE!"

"…I wonder." Superman said. "When will the day come when squalid little toads like you find something new to say?"

The Lord's eyes narrowed.

"You just ensured it'll hurt even more."

Superman's subsequent charge demonstrated that he could care less.

* * *

"Rail cannon holding steady at 82 percent sir. The last issues are proving particularly…obstinate." The Bulwark agent reported, typing away at his scorched console.

"I want that thing ready to fire ASAP. It's our main objective." Roger Candide said. "What about our forces?"

"All fighters are down, sir." Another agent said. "CESTUS suits are at maybe 10 percent optimally functional. Another 5 percent are up to doing non combat duties. The rest…"

"Out with it."

"A wash sir. If it wasn't for the metahumans who had returned from the Arctic…our odds would have been poor, to say the least."

"Damn. What about the _Hectors_?"

"The one that went down has been repaired sir. The other one was utilized for your Command 55."

"Tell the repaired one to establish a perimeter around the city." Roger said. He didn't speak aloud his following thought: that was all you could do without all of you getting killed, and you might all get killed anyway.

Roger allowed himself a moment of sorrow. This was the greatest disaster BULWARK had suffered since…that incident in 1985 that everyone had a hard time remembering. Even the super geniuses of BULWARK had been unable to make sense of all the conflicting files of _that _incident. Now it had happened again, on a less confusing but no less tragic scale. Roger was going to have to deliver a lot of flags to a lot of families.

Not like the superhumans were exempt. The Lord and Prime had slaughtered dozens of them: the insane shadow god had been killing them right up to the arrival of the Kryptonian. They would have their own grief to deal with, provided any of them survived.

Superman. Even with all Roger knew of him, it seemed like an impossible task lay ahead for the Man of Steel. Then again, how many times had the military, himself included, written off Superman after some disaster?

Didn't he always win, no matter the odds?

"…Nathaniel…" Roger said.

"Yes, Candide…" Peregrine replied, sitting on some nearby stairs as he poked inside his combat reading device with a laser tool. "I know. In retrospect crushing my machine in a fit of outraged pique was somewhat counterproductive. I'm working on it."

"You built that, you can probably do something of its job. What would you say the situation is?"

"Well…it IS the Kryptonian. His reputation is well-earned. However, it is also known he is vulnerable to these thrice-damned mystical forces that are covering the battlefield, and his enemy seems to be commanding them at an Omega-class level." Peregrine said. "But I did not say my reading for him was his natural state for nothing. When pushed, I am not certain how high he can rise. Unfortunately, I am also not certain how deep that shadow being can sink, if you comprehend my analogy."

"Then give them plenty of room. If we learned one thing from the Doomsday incident, it was that in this sort of fight, any sort of non-meta intervention is just going to slow Superman down."

"We learned two things from that incident actually." Peregrine commented. "The other being that the Kryptonian is as mortal as you or I."

Roger stared, not sure how to answer that.

He didn't have to, as his inner-ear based private micro-communicator sounded. He turned away from Peregrine: the device worked by reading the vibrations of his vocal cords and he could speak softer than a whisper and still be heard.

"Sir, we have successfully located the source of the readings. We believe we have not been spotted. Orders sir."

"Commence Operation Faustus. Keep up the repairs too, and point as many sensors as we can spare on Superman and the asshole he's fighti-"

"Sir!" A female agent gasped as she ran into the room. "Sir, sir! We've located your son!"

"Thank God! What's his sitrep?" Roger asked.

"Um…it might be best if…not good sir." The female agent said, as she produced a small computer-esque device and pressed a button. A pyramid of light appeared above the machine, and a second later it reformed into a large hologram.

Roger stared. There was Robert, and his teammates…and countless Abhorred, the several dozen teen heroes surrounded and outnumbered at least twenty to one. No wonder the female agent had run up here.

"…I want ALL available Cestus units on their position YESTERDAY!" Roger yelled. He felt guilt for a few seconds afterward: how many other people had lost their sons today? Was it fair to purposely direct things to save his?

Roger squelched the thought after a few more seconds. The Titans were too useful to let fall…and today was no day for fairness.

"What about the other metahumans Candide? Just leave them to the wolves?" Peregrine said, playing the devil's advocate.

"Engaged Cestus units are staying where they are. That was an order for all AVAILABLE units. Plus, the Titans are clearly with at least 2/3 of the teenage-based metahuman heroes on the planet: if we lose THAT, we're done for."

"And the Kryptonian?"

"The saying was never truer, Perrier." Roger said. "This is a job for him."

* * *

The Lord charged at Superman, slashing out with a foot. Superman blocked the blow, retaliating with a penetrating punch to the Lord's torso. The Lord stepped back from the attack, feinting left before slashing out with his right foot in another roundhouse. Superman intercepted that with a chop to the ankle, knocking the Lord's foot down before he fired another punch into the Lord's face. The Lord spun off the blow and went low, slashing his foot at Superman's own ankles. Superman leapt away, doing a quick spin as the Lord regained his feet before lancing another punch at the Lord. The Lord met the punch with his own, and the grounds around the pair exploded from the shockwave that erupted from the blow, smashing the rocks and debris around the two as they were once again consumed with dust.

Marissa Mori lowered her scanner, making a minute adjustment before she returned her gaze to the site of the dust cloud. In the two seconds she'd looked away, the master and the alien were already gone. Marissa wasn't much surprised.

Taking a few seconds for other data, Marissa scanned across Metropolis, where the other heroes fought their own furious battles. She watched the Titans a bit before switching to the arrived 'Arctic Heroes', who seemed to be making fair inroads against their Abhorred. More of an inroad then she had anticipated to be precise.

Too great an inroad. There were too many Abhorred on the Titans, when it came down to it. It would be best if the master redistributed his forces. There was also the state of his battle against Superman. Superman was supposed to be vulnerable to magic, yet the fight seemed to be even instead of her master dominating.

Perhaps the master was taking his measure, like with the child. That choice had served him well. Then again, the child didn't have a lineup of people who would eagerly take his place if Superman fell: if the master took too long…

Was the Sorceress hindering him in any fashion? Marissa looked away from the Battle of Metropolis at her charge, but that told her nothing. The master had arranged things with the woman/construct beforehand in order to use her powers, but Marissa knew they were hardly friends. Would the Sorceress actually try and encumber his efforts, simply out of angry pride? Was she that tactically unsound? This was a grand guignol of epic proportions; the time for petty ego was…

A twig snapped. Marissa's eyes widened as sudden cold shot through her veins. A second later she went for her personal sidearm.

A second after that, the red dots bloomed on her head and chest.

"Drop it."

Marissa froze. Now she could see them, the flickering shimmers of disrupted light. Cloaked soldiers.

"Drop the gun or get gut shot, bitch." Another voice said. Marissa stared at the shimmering figures a moment.

Slowly, she did as she was told, removing the gun from her holster and setting it down on the ground.

"Turn around. Hands on your head."

Marissa did that, the dirt rasping beneath her twisting heel as she turned her back on her ambushers. A second later, the shimmering shapes dissolved into four men dressed in black combat gear, their faces covered with balaclavas and high-tech goggles. They kept their automatic rifles trained on the small girl as they approached her, but she did not move.

"On your knees." The Bulwark commando said. Marissa began getting to her knees.

"Her armor." Another said, noting the slightly shifting liquid metal on Marissa's frame.

"True. Disable your armor. NOW." The Bulwark commando said.

"…shun the furious bandersnatch." Marissa said. The liquid metal went inert.

"What did she call you man? Hah." One of the commandoes said, as he turned his gun onto the Sorceress. "And what's this? Miss Mummy?"

"Lieutenant Coleridge reporting in sir. Targets successfully neutral…pardon me. Sergeant Gains! Act proper!"

"%$# that man. Is this how that $#%$ing shadow THING killed all our friends?" Sergeant Gains said, as he prodded the Sorceress with his weapon.

Marissa couldn't really describe what she felt then. If pressed, she would have described it as half a sick feeling of dread and half someone probing one of her molars with a drill.

"I really wouldn't do that." Marissa said.

"Gains, stand down. What did you say?" Coleridge asked.

"I don't know her, but I wouldn't test her." Marissa said.

"You kidding me?" Gains snapped. "Here's what I think of your 'wisdom'!"

Gains' gun butt to the Sorceress's hand produced no reaction from the entity.

Save for Marissa.

She heard Ithlian's cry in her head.

* * *

The Lord stopped dead as his form shook, his being-attempted attack exploding into a burst of black dots.

"What the devil-ARRRRGGHHHH!" The Lord yelled as Superman smashed his fist into the Lord's face, driving several more blows into his torso before leveling him with another right hook. The Lord crashed through a building, Superman hot on his heels.

The Lord introduced the Man of Tomorrow to HIS heel, kicking Superman into the ground. Snarling, he swung his hands back and spun them in a half circle.

"Recognize this?" The Lord said, and unleashed a blistering ray of black force that smashed into Superman and drove him back into the ground. It didn't last long, as Superman forced himself back to his feet.

His first attempt to move by dodging to the side failed by some bizarre 'lock effect'. It was like the attack doubled as a tractor beam. Unable to break free, Superman went the only way he could, as he drove himself against the attack, gritting his teeth as it burned into him. Despite his pain, Superman quickly gained ground on the assault.

"Here's another hint." The Lord said, his eyes blazing. "OLD SCHOOL."

A pulse of force exploded down the beam, smashing into Superman. The pulse was followed by another, and another, driving the Man of Steel back into the shattered rock as he struggled to recover.

* * *

"GAINS! STOP THIS, RIGHT NOW!" Coleridge yelled. "I swear, if you just killed us, I'm getting you first! Rifle butting an unknown metahuman, what do they teach in basic these days?!"

"What's going on?" Roger Candide's voice said in Coleridge's ear.

"Sorry sir, one of the recruits got out of hand and struck one of our prisoners. You can be assured…"

"He did what?"

"Struck one of the prisoners sir."

"When?"

"Just now sir."

"I mean WHEN?"

"Um, perhaps fifteen seconds or so sir?"

"…do it again."

"Excuse me sir?"

"DO IT AGAIN."

* * *

"Sometimes, the classics have such appeal." The Lord said, as he continued pouring the double whammy of the piercing ray and the force pulses into Superman. Superman had managed to get back up, and was furiously punching at the pulses to keep from falling down again. "Now, should I crush you into paste, or just cripple you enough to-"

The shuddering lurch slammed into the Lord again. He gasped, black smoke spewing forth from his mouth. Worse, his beam cut off like someone had flicked a switch.

"Oh no."

Superman's punch nearly ripped the Lord's jaw right off, despite the Lord lacking a skeletal structure or the muscles to attach it to. Another cloud of dust plumed up as the Lord made his own crater in the ground half a mile distant.

"…miss Mori, what is going on?"

* * *

"…it worked." the Bulwark agent said. "It disrupted the shadow creature's powers."

Roger Candide stood still for a moment, wrestling with his next words.

"…Geneva accords be damned. She's a prisoner, but if she's linked to him, then she's still fighting." Roger said, and touched his ear. "Keep it up, Coleridge."

"What, sir?"

"Keep striking her! Be reasonable…but keep doing it!" Roger said, and terminated the conversation.

"That's awfully cold of you, Candide." Peregrine said.

"It's a cold day." Roger said. "She's just lucky I don't know if doing worse would activate some sort of countermeasure, or else I'd have him put a bullet in her head."

* * *

"Miss Mori, this is a VERY poor time to-AUUGGHHH!" The Lord yelled as heat vision struck him on the shoulder, blowing off one of his arms. Turning around into another punch, the Lord skipped across the ground for a bit before trying to regain his balance.

An uppercut knocked him skyward first. Before the Lord could recover again, Superman blurred above him and double-axe handled him into the ground.

"…I suppose fortune was due to-ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!" The Lord bellowed, as Superman pulled a trick from the Lord's book and bathed him in wide-range heat vision again, pinning him to the ground and trying to blast him into nothing like the Lord had been doing seconds earlier.

Marissa heard her master's umbrage, echoing in her head.

She showed not a trace of it.

"This is for Lopez!" Gains snapped, slapping the Sorceress so hard he drew blood. "This is for Greowitch!"

"This isn't what I signed up for." Coleridge said with dark regret, holding his gun on Marissa while his eyes flicked back and forth between her and the Sorceress.

"In all fairness, sir, it's allowing the alien to seize control of the fight." Private Tycho said, peering at the Battle of Metropolis in the distance.

"If he doesn't win this, though, all this cruelty will not be worth it."

"We didn't declare the war sir. They did." Corporal Pilgrim said. Coleridge had no reply, instead looking at his prisoner, who seemed transfixed by Gains' actions.

In reality, Marissa barely noticed the abuse. She was too busy with the voices in her head.

In a way, it was almost sad, as Gains once again smacked the Sorceress with his weapon. The Sorceress had once callously killed untold numbers of people, wiping them out of existence without a hint of cognizance, let alone remorse. Now she was reduced to a punching bag.

Somehow, it still didn't have a sense of justification.

The world could be strange sometimes.

The Sorceress' own cry sounded off, mirroring the Lord's.

Marissa did nothing.

She couldn't.

* * *

Rock shattered, melted, and burned beneath Superman's blazing vision, a cloud of black smoke rising up from the target zone.

The smoke twitched.

Superman cut off his heat vision and flew backwards.

The attack did not come from the smoke. It came from the ground to Superman's right, as the rock erupted and something flew forth. Superman whirled towards the approaching mass.

Before he spun back around and backhanded the Lord into the upper levels of another building. The black mass impacted on Superman's back and exploded into mist. The Lord had tried a double-bluff, and it hadn't worked.

"I guess…" The Lord said.

Superman's dashing punch smashed into the Lord's face and cut him off again. The Lord staggered from the blow.

The stagger didn't last long, because Superman didn't let it, as he grabbed the Lord, whirling him up and down into the floor. The Lord crashed through it, Superman ramming him down through all the building's levels and into the rock below. The building crumbled down into dust and debris, as impacts shook the ground beneath Metropolis and sent rock spraying and stabbing up from below.

The Lord exploded out of the earth, Superman on his heels. The Man of Steel lashed out with another punch, but this time he just hit black mist as the Lord blurred away.

A spray of blasts flew out. Superman did his own blurring disappearance, dashing behind the Lord and smashing his fist against the back of his head. The Lord tumbled through the air before blurring away again; a moment later another spray of blasts flew towards Superman. Superman met their charge with his own, lancing towards and through the blasts with insane precision before he smashed both his fists into the Lord's chest, sending him skipping along the ground.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" The Lord snarled, slamming on the brakes.

Superman tore through the air at the Lord. The Lord thrust out his hands in turn, black energy crackling between them as he began to form a sphere.

Superman hit another time-stasis barrier.

This time, he broke through with hardly any effect on him. The Lord's eyes went wide.

Superman's did as well, as he seized the Lord's wrists. The Lord's attack faded out of existence, as crimson rage exploded in Superman's gaze.

There was an expression about looks being able to kill.

Superman made it a reality as his heat vision blasted out, piercing into the Lord's own eyes. A moment later the Lord's head exploded like a bomb.

Superman slipped away from the Lord, the shadow god's headless body falling to its knees.

"I know that won't stop you, so you can't quit pretending. The S doesn't stand for stupid." Superman said.

"_Can you match your name's hyperbole though?"_

The voice echoed in Superman's head as pitch-black mist erupted from the Lord's body, engulfing Superman before he could retreat. Superman focused his vision, but the blackness remained absolute. A moment later, Superman realized all the ambient sound had died off too.

He was blind and deaf.

Superman dashed to the side, but he couldn't escape the darkness. The impact sensation of crashing through a building he didn't know was there swiftly put him off further motion.

"_Ah Kryptonian. You are not the only one who can learn patterns. The cloud is on top of you; it goes where you go. There is no escape."_

Superman cut loose with another wide-spread blast of heat vision. It parted the clouds before him, but they swiftly flowed back,

"_How fortunate no one was in front of you. Shall we chance your breath next?"_

Burning blades slashed across Superman's face before he could answer. Superman recoiled, clutching at his eyes as another searing blade stabbed into his side.

"_No senses left that could help you. A perfect mirror to your complete LACK OF SENSE."_

Blows hammered into Superman's torso, shoulders, and face. He punched in the direction of the blows and hit nothing; a moment later another burning stab slammed into the small of his back. Superman whirled around with another backhand, but he again hit nothing. Several more blows smashed into his face again, and the Man of Tomorrow felt blood beginning to flow from his nose.

"_Lost."_

A kick to the side of Superman's head.

"_Fumbling in the dark."_

Another burning slash across his chest.

"_Going down, all the way to…"_

Superman whirled and punched.

The Lord exploded out of the cloud he'd created, smashing another crater into the ground. The cloud broke up immediately, freeing Superman from its grasp.

Superman didn't need enhanced vision to see the furious surprise the Lord was trying to conceal as he pulled himself up from the rubble that had fallen on him.

"Like you said. Patterns." Superman said. "Apparently you're not as good at disguising them as you believe you are."

The Lord's eyes flashed with rage, and a moment later he blurred away. Superman readied himself for the following attack, but none came.

Superman gave his enemy two seconds and then began scanning the area, hunting for the Lord. He'd fought enough lunatics and maniacs to know the difference between when they were breaking and running and when they were plotting something…

…he didn't see it coming regardless.

"_Hey Kryptonian! CATCH!"_

Superman whirled towards the voice as the screaming form was flung towards him. Superman took a split-second to calculate variables before flying backwards and down at a slight angle. The person fell into his arms, Superman lessening the grabbing impact as much as he could.

It was a Metropolis Special Crimes Unit policeman. Superman wasn't surprised they had stuck around to defend their city. They were the best of the best.

"I got-" Was all Superman got to say before the SCU member cut him off with a scream.

A moment later he exploded.

The shockwave hurled Superman backwards, burning black energy searing Superman's form even as he reeled at what had just happened. He'd caught the man and then…

"HAVE SOME MORE!" The Lord bellowed, as he hurled two more screaming SCU members at the Man of Steel. Superman instinctively caught them, and his heart seized with ice as they screamed once before lines of darkness lit up on their bodies. The twin detonations hurled Superman through some rubble, the Man of Tomorrow desperately correcting himself as fast as he could.

Not fast enough. The Lord had another SCU member in his grip. The various non-caught members had by now thrown caution to the wind and were openly firing on the Lord. The shadow god didn't even acknowledge it.

"If you really recognize patterns, alien, you should have seen this coming!" The Lord snarled, and hurled his current SCU member at Superman.

"NO!!!!!!!" Superman screamed, as he flew towards the SCU member, lined up with her, and began spinning rapidly, attempting to form a 'vacuum cushion' to see her down to the ground without touching her.

"Nice try." The Lord said, holding up his hand. "I cheat."

The snap of the fingers rang in Superman's ears. He could only watch in horror as the SCU screamed and exploded, more black cursed power slamming into and burning the Man of Steel.

"DAMN YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Superman roared, blitzing towards the Lord and smashing him across the face with a cracking right hook. In mid-fall, the Lord chuckled, and then blurred away.

Superman raced down to the SCU, planning to get them out of the Lord's grip as fast as he possibly could.

The Lord still beat him there.

"It doesn't really matter how much you hurt me, Kryptonian." The Lord said, holding yet another SCU member. "I can hurt you far worse."

"Monster! You would hide behind…"

"Yes, Kryptonian. I would. That's the difference between you and I. There is no tact I won't take, no low I won't sink to. _You _may be chained to your worthless, execrable morality, but _I _am not. _I _am unfettered! **You**, _ARE DOOMED!_"

The SCU member flew at Superman. Superman floated there, trying to think of some way to save him…

The Lord didn't even give him that, as he lanced towards Superman and floored him with a kick to the chest. Superman tumbled away, as the SCU member hit the pavement with a sickening wet noise.

Superman's bellow echoed across Metropolis, as he blazed back and smashed into the Lord again, pummeling him with punches so swift they all blurred into one another.

Until two more SCU members exploded. Superman stopped his attack dead in his tracks.

"I compensate, alien. You touch them, they explode. You touch _me_, they explode." The Lord said. "Maybe I should just kill them all and take the decision out of your hands."

Superman kept still, his eyes on the Lord, his mind racing. There had to be…

"SORRY, TOO SLOW!" The Lord snarled, and smashed Superman backwards. Superman went with the blow, as the Lord blurred after him and began throwing his own barrage of attacks into Superman's form. Blood flew from Superman's face, burns beginning to appear on his bare skin at the same time.

"Oh, you think you can stand here and just be abused, hoping I'll forget about the living bombs I made? I don't think so." The Lord said, raising a hand.

Superman vaporized the appendage with his heat vision. The Lord paused, staring at the stump.

"Heh."

Another SCU member exploded with another scream. The Lord cocked his head, regarding the Man of Steel with dark mockery.

"…all your power, which you keep bragging about…despite every so-called advantage your sick worldview supposedly gives you…and you have to resort to this? Who's really weak here?" Superman said.

The Lord's smirking expression transformed into a black glare.

"_**YOU."**_

The piercing rays blasted from the Lord's own eyes, driving the beams into Superman's vision. Superman clutched at his burning face, before the Lord kicked him through another building.

"You would condemn me, loathe me for my choice of tactics. Don't you understand, alien? Under your hand, humanity has bred the likes who would do this simply for their own amusement." The Lord said, re-growing his hand. "You wish for that to become your world? Under YOUR so-called protection, that is all that will be left of the world! You can't do anything to stop it! This world NEEDS _ME! YOUR _TIME IS DONE!" Superman erupted from the wreckage again, but he did not approach the Lord. The Lord chuckled to himself again, a dark, wry laugh.

"You label me squalid. You think I'm just another lunatic cast in the mold you've faced down so many times before. Ever consider, Kryptonian, why my so-called kind will simply not stop coming? How for all those years you've positioned yourself as guardian of truth, justice, and the American Way, you're still standing in the same spot? You ever consider that I'm not the one cast under the Chinese definition of madness, but YOU are?"

"I do what I can do. That is all I can do." Superman said quietly.

"It's not GOOD ENOUGH!" The Lord snarled. "You will not poison _my_ world beyond repair. You will not preach your pointless, hopeless _delusions _about how the egesta that masquerades as this planet's dominant species can ever mean anything! You will not slow my progress any more. YOU…"

The sonic boom sounded in the Lord's ears, and he whirled and tried to activate his time-dilution abilities again.

Unfortunately, they again didn't work.

Doubly unfortunate was that Power Girl could punch as hard as her cousin. The Lord crashed once more into the ground half a mile distant.

"Talk too much." Power Girl spat, and glanced at Superman. "Hey Kal. Finally managed to bring some help here."

"Much needed." Wonder Girl said, flying up to Superman. She wasn't alone: one arm supported the magician known as Zatanna.

"Sorry for the start, Superman. She went on my assessment that the curse of that shadow creature wouldn't extend to her." Zatanna said. "Go. I'll block his link and break that wretched enchantment. Take him out!"

"Music to my ears." Power Girl said, as the Lord pushed himself up from where he lay.

"Oh, recruited some help, alien? Fine!" The Lord snapped. "Send another one to die! Send two more, a dozen, a thousand! I'll turn your soul into…"

Power Girl's uppercut snapped off the Lord's words as he shot up into the sky.

Kal-L met him there with a vicious double-handed blow. The Lord blasted another hole into the ground from the impact of his landing.

"Ha…ha…managed to get away from my projections…" The Lord laughed hollowly, pulling himself from his latest crater once again. "It'll just ensure…whoever you left behind will die…you can live on with the…"

"SHUT UP!" Power Girl yelled as she floored the Lord with another punch. "YOU DON'T GET TO TALK ANY MORE YOU…"

"Neither do you!" The Lord snapped, and fired off a blast from his finger directly at Power Girl's throat.

Wonder Woman's bracelets met it first, the Amazon deflecting the attack as it exploded against a giant piece of rubble.

"Oh." The Lord said. A moment later Kal-L's fist smashed into the back of his head, sending him face-planting into the ground once more.

"Honestly, it doesn't really matter how you dress it up, son." Kal-L said, as the Lord began pushing himself to his feet once more. "There is no you and the corrupt of this world. You're one of them. Sorry to break it to you."

"It won't earn you anything except a complete six-pack of ass-whipping with a side order of pain." Wonder Girl said. Power Girl glanced at the teenage hero. "Hey, they can't all be winners."

Superman landed near the Lord, having just received a confirmation from Zatanna that she'd broken the Lord's kill-curse and would get the remains of the SCU to safety. Turpin had, in considerably cruder terms, told Superman to beat the Lord harder than he normally would. For once, Turpin had phrased Superman's intent almost perfectly.

"I'm glad you're all right, and I'm proud to stand by you all." Superman said. "Now let's make that monster pay."

"…pay? Pay?" The Lord said, and laughed softly to himself. "Maybe I should give you a real reason to render payment. Should I…CLARK?"

For a moment, there was silence.

"…if you so much as TOUCH anyone else…" Superman growled.

"You'll what? Kill me?" The Lord said. "We both know you haven't the stones for it."

"No." Superman said.

The heat vision blew twin holes through the Lord's chest a moment later.

"However, you'd be surprised what you can live through." Superman said. The Lord laughed darkly, his eyes blazing.

"You call this pain, alien?"

"No, THIS IS!"

Power Girl's fist slammed into the Lord's face, and the shadow god fell under an overwhelming rain of furious blows.

* * *

The fatal flaw.

Many nights the Lord had spoken to Marissa about his mission and his enemy, the human race. More than once, he had brought up the concept of the inherent flaw in humanity, and how it so often was the key to the failure and destruction they suffered and wrought.

_They're like diamonds, I've discovered. They can be the hardest material to destroy you could naturally find…until you find the flaw. A small bit of pressure there, and all their strengths and power breaks apart, rendered useless in one moment._

The Lord had given many examples. A Spartan king known as Agesilaus II had nearly conquered all of Greece, only for an inability to temper himself to spark revolt and the complete destruction of Sparta as anything resembling a world power for the rest of time. General Custer had thrown away all his previous victories and military brilliance, instead becoming a cautionary tale of arrogance, all to feed his insatiable need for glory. Serial killer Dennis Raider, aka the BTK Killer, would have had a strong chance of getting away with his murders had he not outright stalked a reporter to get full credit for his crimes. When it came down to it, humans would tend towards their weakness, their need to salve or indulge an aspect of them, placing it above the smartest, more practical decisions. It was killing the world, and hence humanity had to go.

In the end, Marissa had recognized that it lay within her master too. He HAD put too many Abhorred on the Titans, and the other group of heroes had beaten back their under-numbered group and left The Ray and Lady Quark to clean up while they went to help Superman. He also had a bad habit of resorting to sadism instead of practicality when he was getting hurt: instead of swiftly finishing Superman, he'd drawn it out to try and torture him, and now he was being overwhelmed completely by Superman and his allies.

The fatal flaw.

Marissa Mori had never questioned it, despite these things.

After all, it didn't mean the Lord was wrong.

She should have been flat on the ground and fully restrained now, if not being returned to the giant airship (as she assumed the men had come from that) as a prisoner. Instead, she was still on her knees, her hands on her head and one gun trained on her. The other Bulwark members were watching the soldier known as Gains as he repeatedly brutalized the prone Sorceress, or observing the ripple effect it caused that had allowed her master to end up in the precarious position he was now in. Even their leader wasn't paying full attention to her.

When it came down to it, Marissa didn't know how much of a factor it had played.

She did know, however, that only the sharpest and most fortunate eyes could have recognized just _how_ her heel had dug and twisted on the ground when she'd turned her back on the Bulwark agents.

She'd designed her trigger that way for a reason.

The Bulwark agents' eyes weren't that poor though. When the motion buzzed near them, they all immediately stopped what they were doing and aimed their weapons at it.

"FIRE!"

The small aerial drone flittered about, dodging the shots of the four commandos with it's erratic pattern. However, it did not return fire: instead, it retreated after a few seconds.

"Tycho, follow it! Make sure…!"

The second sight of motion did not prompt reactions so quickly.

"DECOY!" Coleridge yelled, as the second robot leapt to the attack.

Unlike the small flying drone, this one was human sized.

It was also armed, as a stream of black liquid fired from it's left arm that swiftly engulfed Corporal Pilgrim. He dropped his weapon, yelling and yanking at his armor as the corrosive ate into it, his gun melting in a similar fashion.

The robot landed as the Bulwark commandoes gaped at it. They were not surprised at its appearance, as they had encountered robots before. Nor was it's design shocking: it had a humanoid skeletal structure-body of hyper dense black metal wires attached to gray polymer armor that served as both 'muscles' and 'clothing', twin guns connected to the it's forearms, a 'face' full of flashing cameras and scanners, and a minimalist paint scheme that consisted of some small red and green markings. To a man on the street, it drew your attention, but it wasn't stunning when one had encountered mad scientists before, sometimes on a weekly basis.

The surprise was that they had no less than seventeen different scanning systems between all of the Bulwark agents and their base.

Which the decoy AND the attack robot had all avoided.

The Lord had commented earlier about his aide's skill in design and robotics. Sometimes he was even telling the truth.

"PILGRAM! NO!' Gains yelled, as he opened fire on the black robot. The robot returned fire, spraying a blast of purple energy shots that impacted the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust and smoke. Tycho joined Gains in blasting at the cloud, but Coleridge held his own fire.

It paid off, as the robot's follow up move was to leap into the air.

Right into Coleridge's own gun blast, sending it crashing back down to the ground. Before Gains and Tycho could focus fire, though, it was up and lurching across the ground, it's coiled body twisting and turning away from the shots.

"…shut it down!" Coleridge yelled, turning his gun towards Marissa and ramming the hot barrel into her head.

"I can't."

"SHUT IT DOWN!"

"Nothing can deactivate Alice after she's been turned on. Including any orders I could give." Marissa said quietly. Coleridge growled and re-joined his efforts to his two teammates.

The battle robot, dubbed Alice, sprayed out its black acid again. Tycho saw it coming and dodged away.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the target. The acid itself was, as Alice blasted the arcing spray in mid-air and ignited it into a sheet of flame. The fire blazed out and scorched Tycho, sending him stumbling back.

"LOOK OUT SOLDIER!" Coleridge yelled.

Coleridge's warning didn't come fast enough, as Alice dashed through the fading fire cloud at Tycho. He swung his gun towards her, but Alice was quicker; she surged around Tycho before jumping forward. Tycho couldn't escape in time, as Alice's body clamped onto Tycho's body, its coil-limbs wrapping around Tycho's own.

There was a series of sickening cracks as Alice dislocated Tycho's elbows, shoulders, and knees in three swift double-jerks. Tycho had passed out from the pain before he hit the ground.

The move cost Alice though, as she needed two seconds to untangle herself. She also needed three seconds to cross the distance between Tycho's fallen form and her next target.

Gains only needed three seconds to lock on.

Alice took the grenade blast full-force, not even making it halfway to Gains before he blew her backwards. Gains yelled a wordless cry of rage as he took a few steps forward, firing at Alice's smoking form while the robot tried to get up, scuttling around like a crab to try and get out of the way.

Coleridge cut off its escape efforts, adding his own firepower against Alice. The robot shuddered under the assault.

Before Marissa finally made the move she'd been planning since she'd been ambushed.

"Snicker-snack." Marissa whispered. Coleridge still heard her, somehow, and swung his gun back towards her as she leapt up. Too slow: Marissa closed the distance before he could pull the trigger, smacking the firearm aside as she drove the palm of her hand into his goggles.

"RAUUGGHHHH!" Coleridge yelled, but his greater size and training had not been forgotten: his retaliation was immediate. His reactionary gun-butt knocked Marissa Mori backwards, and he did not show any mercy in his follow up attack: he opened fire.

The bullets slashed through the air, several slamming against Marissa and knocking her to the ground with a muffled cry. She did not get back up or move again, blood staining the dirt beneath her limp form.

* * *

"Coleridge reporting in sir. I had to neutralize the mobile female assistant. My recording equipment should confirm I had no choice. Moving to neutralize her attack robot!" Coleridge's voice said in Roger's head.

"Acknowledged, Coleridge. Keep us posted." Roger said, turning towards his bridge. "Meyers, what's the word on the Lord of the Night?"

"Um…would the term 'curb stomping' be unprofessional sir?" Agent Meyers said.

"Screw professionalism. Bring it up on the screen. I could use some good news." Roger said. He got it, as said screen showed the Lord virtually helpless beneath the furious efforts of the five superhumans.

"Don't think it's done yet. We can't chalk up my odd readings just to the fact I broke this." Peregrine said, having almost repaired his scanning device. "You saw how he re-utilized his own powers when his magical boost was snarled."

"Then at the very least, I want to see the crap he pulls this time."

* * *

Coleridge renewed his attention to the Alice robot, joining Gains again in firing at its twisting, thrashing form to keep it away from Tycho and Pilgrim.

A second fatal flaw.

Coleridge realized too late he hadn't confirmed Marissa's surefire death or immobilization. That error had allowed her to crawl to the Sorceress' med-chair and press a hidden switch.

Specifically, the Bulwark agent realized this when the sound of metal being unsheathed rang in his ears despite the nearby battle, as Marissa drew the long, thin sword from its sheath. Coleridge jerked back towards her and opened fire again, but not before Marissa had pressed a button on the sheath itself: a faint flickering motion washed over her and the Sorceress as the force field deflected the bullets, forcing Coleridge to scramble for cover from the ricochets.

He didn't get a chance to fire a third burst.

The _jian_ blade sliced Coleridge's gun barrel off, Marissa swinging her sword up in a smooth upward stroke before slicing it back down and slashing Coleridge deeper across his inner forearms, cutting vital tendons and making Coleridge's fingers go numb to everything except the pain that exploded through his arms. He yelled out and tried to get away, but Marissa was quicker, as she spun around and slashed low, slicing through the armor on Coleridge's boots like it was made of butter to sever the Achilles' tendons beyond. Coleridge hit the ground with another scream of agony, no longer able to move.

Marissa knelt down by Coleridge, her eyes alight with a strange fire. Coleridge went rigid, knowing a fugue madness state when he saw it.

Her armor. She'd turned her damn armor back on, probably with the word she'd spoken when she'd attacked him, and the liquid metal had taken most of the bullets. The only successful shot had been a flesh wound under her armpit, where the blood had come from. He'd misjudged the situation.

"He left it dead, and with it's head, he came galumphing back." Marissa half sang, before she grabbed Coleridge by his goggle equipment and slammed his skull against the ground.

"YEAH! ^%#% OFF! I'M THE LORD OF THIS HARVEST!" Gains bellowed, having finally pinned Alice down with his gun. "I'LL BRING IT DOWN! I'LL…!"

Gains, unlike Coleridge, did not hear the small knife sliding out of the _jian's _hilt.

A moment later, Marissa, or rather the sanguinary drive that now commanded her, rammed it right between Gains' shoulder blades, her knife cutting through the armor there like it was a t-shirt and plunging directly into his spine.

Gains couldn't even turn around to see what had happened. He hit the ground, his eyes blinking in wide, shocked surprise, the flash of pain immediately giving way to a terrible full-body cold.

"The jaws that bite, the claws that catch." Marissa said, and stomped on Gains' head. Gains jerked once more, then lay still.

Turning away from him, she glanced at Alice as the robot stopped to cool down. The prototype had weathered the damage it had suffered quite well; she made a mental note and began walking back over to the Sorceress.

She did not see Agent Pilgrim, lying amongst hastily-sheds pieces of melted armor, lining up his shot with his sidearm as she walked in front of him.

Alice did.

The robot's foot crashed down on the Bulwark agent's wrist a second later, breaking it and sending the gun flying. Marissa jerked towards the motion and the sound of Pilgrim's scream, as Alice followed up the stomp with a downward punch. The metal-wire fingers promptly silenced Pilgrim, sending him into unconsciousness behind his three teammates.

Marissa regarded her prototype and it's swift recognition and neutralization of fresh danger, and with a small smirk walked back over to Coleridge, plucking his damaged headgear from him and attaching it to her wrist computer before pressing a few buttons.

"…hello? Report in Lieutenant! We see your signal, have you…?"

"Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" Marissa sang, and yanked the headpiece off her arm before crushing it underfoot.

* * *

"Damn." Roger said. "We have to assume Coleridge's team is down. Do we have anyone qualified to take down a Rank 5 meta?"

* * *

"Sorry sir! We're barely making progress here!" Bulwark CESTUS Pilot Walker replied as he and his fellow mech-wearing agents did everything they could to battle alongside the battered, bloody, and exhausted Teen Titans. The latest Abhorred came for Walker, roughly the seven-umpteeth wacillion to do so, only for a giant green dinosaur tail to smack it aside. Walker barely blinked an eye.

"Okay, all Cestus units in the area, try to maneuver the enemy in…"

"Sir! Sir!" Walker's voice squawked. Considering Bulwark agents were not supposed to squawk, Roger was a tad displeased.

"What agent?"

"The enemy's gone!"

"…what?"

"They all just turned into dust and blew away!"

* * *

"…okay, this can't be what I think it is." Savior said, looking around at the now-empty battlefield. The Titans were similarly confused, looking around and up for a sneak attack or ambush.

A dozen seconds ticked by. Nothing occurred.

"It's really going to suck when the next wave shows up and he laughs at us." Gauntlet said, collapsing into a sitting position.

"…okay guys, who's hurt? We…" Robin started.

It was right around then Raven fell to her knees, holding her head and screaming.

* * *

"…I do wish I hadn't repaired this device." Peregrine said.

"What Nathaniel?" Roger said, turning to look at Peregrine as he sat, staring at his scanning invention.

"I really didn't need to be reminded about Murphy's Law."

* * *

Superman felt in his teeth and bones before it happened, a deep sensation of wrenching force.

Then he was flying away, he and all his teammates, as a incomprehensibly powerful blast of force blew them all off of the Lord, sending them all crashing into the rubble and buildings beyond them.

Superman recovered first, looking at the Lord as he slowly stood up, black and white energy crackling all over him. The Lord met his gaze.

Of all the black, murderous eyes Superman had ever seen, the Lord's had to be among the worst.

A moment later, the ground began to shake.

* * *

"Raven! What the hell is going on!" Savior yelled.

"Magic surge…oh god…the SIZE…" Raven gasped.

* * *

The screen Roger was viewing was not shaking, but Roger didn't need it to. He knew what a myriad of small rocks suddenly floating up around a villain meant. The deep rumble he heard off in the distance just confirmed it.

"When did reality become that damn Dragon Sphere show?" Roger said.

"…sir…" A Bulwark agent said. "You better see this."

"What?"

"…the water sir."

* * *

The black clouds roiled and thundered once more, as the waters near Metropolis boiled and surged in turn.

Roger, and several other heroes and observers, saw it coming. The rolling tide of darkness. Those who could enhance their vision could see more clearly what it was.

Abhorred. Endless legions of them. Covering the distant waters as far as the eye could see, all of them bearing down on Metropolis.

The Lord had finally lost his temper.

* * *

Superman did not see this. All he saw was the Lord, standing on the rocking ground, fields of floating stones around him.

"_DESTROY."_

The mental message slammed into Superman's head like a blow in and of itself.

"_DestroydestroyslowlycompletelycruellytothepointofnumbnessviolateyourliferipoffyourlimbstearopenyourribspulloutyourintestinesbiteintoyourfacechewthroughyoureyesspreadyourbrainsonthegrounddestroydestroymakeyousufferCLARK."_

Superman had no words. He also had no need for them, as he blazed at the Lord in a flash of blue and red.

The Lord caught his hand in his own.

The Lord's own hand smashed into Superman's chest, nearly bending the Kryptonian completely over his fist as blood flew from Superman's mouth. As Wonder and Power Girl watched in horror, the Lord blurred around Superman and slashed his foot out, kicking Superman through the air so hard it sounded like a bomb going off.

The Lord blurred after Superman again, seizing the back of his head and smashing his face into the ground, dragging him face-first across the ruined landscape for several dozen feet before hurling him forward. Black power sparked on the Lord's hands, and he stopped before he fired two arcing angular blasts that smashed into Superman and carried him into another building. A ground-rattling detonation erupted from the attack, a blast that felt like it shook the whole state.

The Lord stood where he'd stopped after firing the energy, as he glanced back at the four remaining opponents.

They were lucky. He'd burned off a fair chunk of his anger on Superman.

If they'd only understood what they'd pushed him to.

He'd almost used the dead man's switch.

"…all right then. Now pay attention people. This is where it gets good." The Lord said, as he raised a hand. He did not form a fancy super-long sword, or a giant blade of spiked doom. He simply formed a small black energy construct, sharp at both ends.

His enemies were coming.

He welcomed it, as he whirled around.

"GOOD NIGHT!"

* * *

_What the hammer? what the chain?  
In what furnace was thy brain?  
What the anvil? what dread grasp  
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

* * *

_

The gigantic eruptions of noise sounded in Marissa's ears, but she barely noticed it. She DID notice the shockwave knocking her over though. She lay on the ground for a moment, blinking in confusion as her mind roiled.

"…he took his vorpal sword in hand…long time the manxome foe he sought…" Marissa whispered, as she pushed herself up and staggered over to the Sorceress' med chair. "So rested he by the Tumtum tree…and stood awhile…in thought."

The Sorceress watched the mumbling girl with her lone eye. So much for the great shadow god 'fixing' her mental problems. The Lord's aid clearly needed more work.

Though based on the echoes of carnage the Sorceress felt now, the Lord clearly had higher priorities.

* * *

Cassandra Sandsmark. She'd become Wonder Girl as a way of helping her idol. Her choice had cost her a normal life, dear friends, and her first love.

It hadn't broken her. Even now, when facing down the Lord, Wonder Woman saw that she never hesitated.

"You don't impress me you…!" Wonder Girl was saying, as she flew in to punch.

The Lord smacked her blow aside, grabbed her, and smashed his knee into her torso so hard the back of her shirt split. Air and blood flew from Wonder Girl's mouth, before the Lord yanked the girl back and let her have it with a point-blank gigantic blast that engulfed her and buried her beneath rubble.

"YOU BASTARD!" Power Girl screamed before Wonder Woman could, flying in to attack. The Lord met her with his simple blade, slashing upward and knocking her into the sky, leaping up and firing a spray of homing blasts that converged on Wonder Woman and blasted her back into the ground. Power Girl tried to recover, but the Lord was faster, blazing up and slashing Power Girl across her form once more…

Before he lanced back down, just avoiding Kal-L's heat vision, and impaled his blade through Power Girl's torso. Power Girl gasped, as the Lord lanced her back down into the ground, smashing a myriad of cracks from the impact even as horrendous pain exploded through Power Girl's entire body. Strangely, there was no blood when the Lord yanked his blade free. That was mainly because the Lord had, instead of battering up against the potent Kryptonian invulnerability bio-matrix, sidestepped it with a phasing ability. The blade did far less actual damage as a result, but the Lord made up for it with agonizing energy.

"YOU WILL FACE ME CREATURE!" Kal-L bellowed, flying in.

Even he didn't see the attack, as the Lord blasted past Kal-L, slashing him with his poisonous blade. No sooner had Kal-L felt the first attack then a second ripped across him from a different angle, and then another, and then another, the Lord blurring all around the old soldier as he tried to carve him into ribbons.

Kal-L figured out the pattern despite the pain, and after several seconds of torment he lashed out with his fist.

The blow felt wrong.

That was all Kal-L was able to ascertain, as the Lord deflected himself off the punch, hit the ground, and snapped up a hand.

The gigantic black energy blades phased into existence and tore towards their target. Kal-L tried to dodge, but the attack flew with more than speed, converging and impaling themselves upon him. Even as Kal-L cried out in pain, they exploded in a massive black detonation; a moment later Kal-L's own blackened and motionless form crashed back down to earth.

* * *

"…and to think, this is what we'd have had to look forward to day and night if he hadn't messed up that spell." Roger said darkly. "I honestly don't know how the Titans did it."

"Funny you should say that…" Peregrine said, peering into his semi-repaired scanner.

"The shadow legions continue their approach sir. We…can't measure them. They might literally be endless." A Bulwark agent said.

"Wait…do we have any way to clear those clouds?"

"We sent a Cestus unit sir…it didn't come back." Another agent said. "The events suggest we'd have to have nearly twenty times our reserves to get anywhere with those clouds."

"Is there ANY way we can help them?"

"Those heroes took up the cause, Candide." Peregrine said. "It's time for them to do their job. Provided the shadow creature doesn't decide to use his current unoccupied state to yank the moon down on us or something."

"Peregrine, you're ants at a picnic."

"That's what my ex-wife always told me."

* * *

"…tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow…" The Lord said, turning his energy blade over in his hand. "Creeps in this petty pace from day to day. To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools, The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is…"

"I TOLD YOU TO _SHUT UP!"_ Power Girl roared as she tore through the air at the Lord.

She promptly punched the air where he was. The Lord reformed nearby, swinging back an arm as it magnified immensely in size. Power Girl turned into a bus-sized claw attack, as the Lord smashed the Kryptionian into another pile of rubble.

"…a tale told by an idiot." The Lord finished, withdrawing and shrinking his arm back to normal. He smirked to himself: this was his favorite part. "Full of sound and fury…"

The golden lengths of rope dropped over the Lord.

"Interesting." Wonder Woman said. "I have heard you talk for a good ten minutes now…"

The rope contracted, as Wonder Woman yanked on her lasso and pulled the Lord towards her.

"AND I DO NOT THINK I HAVE HEARD AN ORIGINAL THOUGHT THAT WHOLE TIME!"

The punch floored the Lord, knocking him to the ground. Wonder Woman crashed down on him and struck anew, hammering away at the shadow god with all her strength and rage. She may not have had solar based energy powers, but she wasn't going to let that hold her back…

…holding back…

Something was wrong. The Lord wasn't trying to defend himself. It wasn't some sort of feint or trick either: Wonder Woman knew enough war to see those. She had him trapped with her lasso and was beating him into the ground and he was just…

…his eyes…

By Hera, his EYES…

"_**RYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**_

In the end, Wonder Woman was spared the rest of the bloodcurdling scream: her ear drums gave out after two seconds.

* * *

The rest of Metropolis wasn't so fortunate.

Everyone within ten square miles clamped their hands over their ears to block out the pain from the cry of unfathomable psychosis. It would have shattered every piece of glass and crystal in the city, except virtually all of it had already been broken. Only the Sorceress seemed unaffected, as Marissa was finally snapped back to her senses by the noise. She stared in disbelief, unable to think that her master had made that sound. The wailing scream was so intense it nearly knocked the _Achilles _out of the air, again. Roger Candide felt more like someone had jammed an ice-pick into both his ears instead of making a loud noise, as the computers of the bridge overloaded and erupted in yet another shower of sparks.

"…what the hell! What did she do, she…she…I have no earthly idea what the Amazon could do to him that three kryptonians couldn't." Peregrine said.

"…her lasso…" Roger said.

"What?"

"Her lasso. The Lasso of TRUTH." Roger said. "It's magical. It forces you to speak the truth. I'm not sure whether it's some sort of absolute metaphysical truth or just what you think is the truth…I think it's the former, from what I've…"

Motion on the screen cut off Roger's words, as the Lord leapt up and charged at Wonder Woman, attacking her in an out of control frenzy. Roger stared for a moment: there was no grace in the attack, no control, not even a focused point like with Superman earlier. The Lord had previously lost his temper; Roger realized he was witnessing the Lord lose it, period.

"Seen." Roger finished, as Wonder Woman tried furiously to defend herself and got nowhere: every blow she threw was utterly ignored. The Lord hadn't even removed the lasso from his body. "To speak the truth, you have to be aware of the truth. Guys like the Lord do a very good job hiding themselves from the truth. So if the lasso works on him, which it seems to, he's being confronted with something…"

Wonder Woman leapt backwards.

The Lord ripped open the ground as he blasted after her. Unlike Metatron, Wonder Woman did not get away.

The blow shook the entire city, and Roger found himself tossed to the ground once more. When he pulled himself back up, Wonder Woman was gone.

"…my god, what just happened?"

"…we managed to track her, sir…the entity just nearly knocked Wonder Woman into orbit."

Roger blinked.

"She just came down somewhere in the Florida Keys, sir."

"…dear god." Roger said, turning his eyes back on the screen. The Lord, free of opponents, had finally pulled the actual lasso off of himself. Much to Roger's astonishment, instead of tossing it aside the Lord actually threw it down on the ground and then began FIRING at it, blasting away at the magical girdle with frantic, out of control attack motions.

"…he literally can't handle the truth." Peregrine said.

With those words, Roger was hit with a feeling of helplessness. He thought he had been helpless before…but now everything was done for. His units were destroyed and the Titans now seemed…pointless, really. This man, no, this THING had a power that had just seen him tear through a group of metahumans that could have probably wiped civilization off the map in hours if they felt like it, and done it like they were nothing. A kid who could turn into a tiger, or a boy with a whip for a nervous system? Parlor tricks compared to what Roger had just seen. All that superior power…bad enough before, but now it had become horrifically clearly it was being wielded by a madman intent on destroying an inanimate object that was known for being indestructible…

No. He wasn't trying to destroy it. He was treating it like a living thing to torture and beat for its 'sins' against him. It was ultimate power welded to ultimate madness.

It was moments like this that made Roger glad he was a religious man.

Prayer was all that was left to him.

* * *

_DESTROYDESTROYDESTROYDESTROYDESTROYDESTROYDESTROY…..!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

Perhaps the darkest irony of the whole incident was the fact the Lord was so determined to keep his memories buried that they'd swiftly gone back into their depths as soon as the lasso was off, whatever the Lord had seen vanishing from his mind never to return. It didn't matter. Whatever they'd been had awoken a rage that refused to be calmed or sated. The Lord would destroy until he couldn't, everything, all things…

The world…

"LORD!"

The voice barely penetrated.

"THIS ENDS NOW!"

Superman crashed into the Lord's side before he could turn towards him, his fist firing off and smashing across the Lord's face. Two more punches followed, as Superman ended with an uppercut that drove the Lord backwards.

He stopped, floating there. Superman's eyes shone red, as twin piercing beams of heat flew at the shadow god.

They met the Lord's hand, as he deflected them with a glowing sigil.

"…no, alien." The Lord said, as he lanced towards Superman. "It NEVER ENDS!"

* * *

Sometimes, it seems, your prayers _are_ answered.

"Oh thank God. Superman's back. And it looks like having someone to be mad at is calming the Lord down." Roger said.

"Sir, Superman's still alive, but the gap in their strength is still…well, impossible." An agent said. Roger almost felt the roots being yanked out of his relief…

"How fitting. That's what the machine says too." Peregrine said.

"But if anyone's going to do the impossible, it's him."

"You misunderstand me Candide. I mean, the machine has told me the shadow creature CAN'T keep up that level of power."

"Explain."

"I wasn't certain about this at first due to my earlier…over-exuberance with my device, but the merge that increased the entity's power so much _isn't perfect_. In fact, I suspect it started dropping almost immediately after he initiated it. It's possibly spiked up and down since then, but my overall readings say the level is on a somewhat-steady downward slope. It gets better. The imperfect nature of the merge isn't just dropping his power. It might be possible for the Kryptonian to break it entirely."

"…Ermine! I want Superman…wait, where did Ermine go?"

"She collapsed when the creature re-manifested sir. She's been taken to the medical bay."

"DAMN IT!"

"There's more bad news, I'm afraid." Peregrine said. "The entity still has enough power to wipe Superman and the rest of us off the face of existence. That, and I have no real idea what could break the connection. If it was maintained through both of the creature's eruptions of rage…then again, it might be tied into his usage of power."

"…then we get on the horn to someone…"

"That last impact we took from the, er, sonic assault blew out our communication grid, sir. It also fragged our launching bays. For all intents and purposes, we are sardines in a floating can."

"…you were right about Murphy, Peregrine. So, we're down to being spectators."

"I suppose if the world is going to end, we may as well have good seats."

"Shall we order popcorn?"

"Even I think that crass, Candide."

* * *

War.

It was all in the hands.

Hands learned to wield weapons. Hands later learned a greater weapon: to point in the direction of an enemy and send many like it forward to confront it.

Then the 20th century dawned, and hands learned a greater weapon still. To push buttons and destroy cities and armies from thousand of miles away in consuming fire.

Strangely, it was in echoes of the past that hands moved on so swiftly. There had been those in the past whose hands directed superhuman efforts, or unnatural energies. In the 20th century, the past built on itself with a vengeance. Many hands rose, that could change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel, wield weapons that could shatter countries or shape into anything the wielder willed.

Yet…

They were all the same, in the end, as Superman and the Lord charged at each other again.

The hands were all closed into a fist.

Superman's punch missed the Lord. The Lord's own missed as well.

War has changed.

Superman did not miss with his second punch, smashing the Lord in the chest and driving him backwards.

War never changes.

The Lord seized on Superman's arm as he tried to punch again, flipping over his body and firing an energy wave. Superman took to the air to dodge and unleashed his breath, barraging the Lord with stone rubble. The Lord broke through it, flying into the sky and crashing into Superman. Superman hurled him off and blasted heat vision; the Lord dodged again and rocketed down, smashing his forearm into Superman's throat and impacting yet another crater into the ground. Before Superman could respond, manacles of dark energy surged up from the ground, locking his wrists and ankles down. The Lord flew back up, a ball of dark crackling energy appearing on his palm as he let Superman have it with a massive point-blank blast. The ground shook as another crevasse ripped open along the ground of Metropolis.

Superman flew out of the black smoke of the new wound and uppercutted the Lord out of his non-existent boots, blazing around and smashing him with a thunderous hook that sent him flying towards the ground again. Superman didn't get a chance to follow up with heat vision, as a lash of dark power surged out from the Lord's falling body and grabbed onto Superman, yanking him down into the chasm with his enemy as the Lord fired off his own punch. Superman smashed into the crevasse's wall and rebounded immediately, smashing into the Lord and carrying him into the other side. The Lord retaliated in turn, the two forces smashing back and forth along the chasm's length before both flew out. The Lord fired a spray of blasts, but Superman dodged them and grounded the Lord with another furious punch, the Lord hitting the shattered street and dragging a line across it.

"…well, _well_." The Lord said as Superman dropped down. "Looks like you work better when I'm not breaking more fragile sacks of meat, _doesn't it."_

Superman remembered the SCU. Their bravery, and their helpless screams.

"_**BURN."**_

The heat vision exploded from Superman's eyes, smashing into the Lord's chest and sending him dragging backwards across the ground before it ripped through the Lord's chest. The Lord hunched over from the stream before looking back up, overt hate in his eyes.

"Burn? **BURN?"**

Superman lanced at the Lord to cut him off.

Before time slowed to a crawl for him. The Lord gave a snarling grin and raised his hands.

"I'll show you _**BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**_"

Demonic black fire erupted on the Lord's hands as the shadow god proceeded to bathe Superman in it. Superman found his chrono-stasis breaking off as the fire engulfed him, and he thrashed amongst the flames.

The Lord made it worse as he charged in, slashing Superman across the face with claws before whirling and kicking him across the face from the other angle. Superman staggered, the fire still burning on him, and the Lord pounced, firing more punches into Superman's face.

Superman responded not with his fist, but his foot, stomping the ground and smashing another crater with the shockwave of the blow. Said shockwave also blew the Lord backwards, giving Superman time to punch him through another building. A quick whirling spin at incredible speed proved to be enough to dissipate the cursed fire.

The Lord erupted upward from the rubble. Superman blazed towards him in a streak of color, smashing both fists into the Lord's chest.

"Got you!"

The distortion was barely noticed even by Superman, the field sweeping over him before he could react. He began pulling away.

Another chrono-lock struck him.

The Lord used it to smash his fist into Superman's gut as hard as he could. Superman's air exploded out from his mouth…

Something was wrong. Very wrong. Superman could tell from the way his mouth started to dry instantly. He realized just what a moment later when he tried to take a breath.

There was nothing _to_ breath.

"_Nature abhors a vacuum. Guess you're not alien enough, alien!"_

The Lord's voice echoed in Superman's head, as his chest began to ignite with searing pain and Lord smashed Superman backwards. Superman realized there was another dark tendril of energy connected to him before the Lord yanked him back to him. Another onslaught of blows hammered against Superman's body: Superman reeled back again, before feeling burning hands close on his throat.

"_This may seem redundant, alien, but it's not. I'm going to pop your head off like a cork!"_

Superman promptly punched the Lord in the face. He felt the blow hit, but the grip on his neck didn't lessen. Superman flailed at the Lord, striking him repeatedly in the face and chest, before once again firing and hitting with his heat vision at point-blank range.

"_Doesn't hurt, not like you, you will learn…!"_

Superman did everything but, striking again and again at the Lord. But the numbness was starting to seep in as his body screamed for air that had been magically removed. Superman could survive in a vacuum, but not for extended periods without a provided supply of oxygen. With virtually no oxygen at all…

"_That's it…"_

Superman clamped onto the Lord's wrists and pressing against them. For a moment, the Lord's grip slackened.

"_Not good enough never good enough, you will DIE…"_

The crushing hold returned, forcing down Superman's echoes of strength. A deeper blackness began to enter his mind, and Superman could swear he heard faint whispers he was unable to identify.

"_It's over alien. You didn't have enough. GO."_

He was hearing Kryptonian whispers…someone was waiting…

"_You'll have plenty of company, all your idiot companions…!"_

He could go…could…he…?

"_All of them too! Just like the rest!"_

What?

"_Didn't run! Didn't beg for mercy! Stood and died! Idiots! A WORLD OF IDIOTS. NO MORE."_

…Bruce…Diana…Kara…J'onn…so many others…so many…

…already dead…

"_GO, Kryptonian."_

"**The last time you actually inspired anyone, Clark…"**

"_It's OVER."_

"**Was when you were dead."**

No.

Superman's arms lanced back up, forcing themselves up against the Lord's wrists. The Man of Steel couldn't see it in the dark, but the shadow god's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"_No! This isn't the way you can't…!"_

If Superman could have spoken, he would have informed the Lord he was right. It was never over.

Instead, as the power exploded through him from his deepest reserves, he let his actions speak for him.

"_No no NO……….!!!!!!!!!!!"_

Superman's mouth opened in a silent scream as he forced his arms outward, ripping the Lord's terrible grasp from his neck.

"_Even YOU CAN'T…!"_

Superman could.

The punch boomed across the city once more, even as the Lord went flying out of his vacuum bubble and hit the ground, bouncing off of it before landing and dragging face first along the broken stone.

The field vanished with a loud popping noise. The air Superman took into his lungs might have been the sweetest visceral experience he'd ever had.

He knew he didn't have long though. He also knew what was going to come.

He welcomed it…on his terms.

Down on the ground, the Lord pushed himself back up. It took a lot to shock him, as said, but Superman had done it. How in the hell had the alien mustered such strength? He'd had no air, did his blood really have such a hyper-oxygenation quality, no, his body was shutting down…was his depth of conviction really that deep? Could the Lord even properly measure it. If he couldn't-NO. Everything had limits, the alien couldn't be far…

There was something else, nagging at the back of his mind…

"You know, with that much power, Lex would have killed me by now."

The Lord glared up at Superman, naked hate in his eyes. Superman met his eyes, his battered face not taking away from the power within them.

"Actually, that's unfair…to Lex. With that much power, TOYMAN would have killed me by now. I don't know whether you're incompetent or weak, honestly."

A pulse of force radiated off the Lord. Superman did not budge.

"Weak…WEAK!?!?!?" The Lord bellowed. "YOU…STUPID…_**MAN!"**_

The Lord smashed his fist into the ground, and an eruption of black energy exploded out from the ground, engulfing Superman. The Lord formed his black energy blade and charged upward, slashing repeatedly and slicing the cloud to pieces.

He missed. Superman didn't, his heat vision exploding on the Lord's hands and blasting his sword apart. The Lord countered with a crackling blast from his eyes: Superman dodged and smashed the Lord back into the ground. The Lord sprang back up and kicked at a downward charging Superman: Superman blurred around the Lord and axe-handled him in the back. The Lord hit the ground for a second before Superman kicked him back up and punched him across the wrecked street, the Lord bouncing a few times before he stopped.

Screaming, the Lord sprang up and fired off another myriad of blasts. Superman was consumed for a moment, before he flew out and leveled the Lord with another punch. The Lord formed claws and slashed: Superman sliced off the claws with his heat vision and slammed repeated punches into the Lord's torso at super-speed before knocking him backwards with another uppercut and then zapping up and smashing him across Metropolis with another axe handle.

"You're not proving me wrong."

Roaring incoherently, The Lord flew back at Superman. Superman dodged and punched the Lord with a devastating body blow, the attack blowing pieces of the Lord's body off from the impact. The Lord went into another barrage, but Superman dodged all of the sloppy, angry attacks, countering with several more punches before blowing the Lord backwards with heat vision. The Lord hit another building and moved to spring off, but Superman beat him to the punch, smashing him through the building and hammering him with lightning-fast fists before he smashed the Lord back into the ground.

"KILL YOU! _**KILL YOU!"**_ The Lord screamed. That was all he got to do before Superman was in front of him. Another storm of blows smashed through the Lord, and he fell to one knee.

"I guess your argument has run its course." Superman said. "Strange, it tends to do that for you villains."

The Lord looked up at the Man of Steel, his eyes burning.

"Kill…you…!!!"

"So now you're going to ape Doomsday and say one thing over and over? So much for a reasoned debate."

The Lord held his burning glare for a few seconds, before snorting black mist from his nose as claws sprouted once more from his fingers. He slashed out with them…

Superman's counter-punch to the attack was grabbed out of nowhere by a shadow tendril, another one surging from the ground and seizing his other arm, yanking them apart and leaving Superman wide open. Superman began igniting his heat vision, only for another time-stasis to stop him in his tracks.

"Well done alien. You wanted to make me mad enough to focus solely on you and not fly off and target those weaker than you." The Lord said, as he placed his clawed hand on his own head. "You succeeded, but not in the way you expected. You made me so angry you actually forced a gigantic gamble."

The Lord yanked his clawed hand away from his head, pulling SOMETHING in the process. Coursing, glistening red threads that Superman noticed the Lord was pointedly refusing to look at.

"I know where I tend to falter, alien. It's why I can chant spells in the back of my mind even when I've mostly lost control, Kryptonian. You want my real closing argument? Open your eyes, alien! HAVE A LOOK!"

The Lord lashed out, and Superman felt drilling rays of cold in his skull as the Lord jammed the…

_OHDEARGODOHGODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

Superman broke free from the tendrils, clutching his head and screaming. What ripped through his conscious mind was so ugly and terrible that his brain completely broke down trying to process it.

Somehow, through it, he heard the Lord speaking.

"I wanted to hurt you, alien. So I did. I used a spell to carefully extract my own memories, my own past. Do you know why I had to use a spell and not telepathy, Kryptonian? Because I will not look at them. No matter what. They will remain locked away in me, forever. You claim to know what I am, Superman. I'd ask you what you're seeing, except it's written all over your face!" The Lord snarled. "You tell me I am wrong. You call me insane, evil, and weak for who I am. Take a look, alien."

The Lord grabbed Superman, ramming more of the poisonous red threads into his head. Superman's cry shook Metropolis.

"TAKE A GOOD, LONG LOOK!"

More overwhelming agony, the horror, the horror…!

"Now tell me, _KAL-EL, CLARK KENT._ Tell me _**HOW I COULD BE ANYTHING ELSE!!!!!!!"**_

The Lord smashed his fist across Superman's face. Superman couldn't even dodge: all he knew was pain and despair.

"Come on, hero! Save me! Save me!" The Lord snapped, as he smashed more blows into Superman. "Do what you're supposed to do! Stop evil! Make things better. It's a holy cause, a noble mission! You can do anything! So save me, alien! SAVE ME! SAVE ME, YOU STUPID _**MAN!**_ _**SAVE ME, GOD DAMN YOU!"**_

The Lord's punch smashed Superman through another building. He lay where he hit the ground, shuddering. He was starting to fight through the memories, but their damage was done.

"You can't." The Lord said, as he floated up to Superman. Superman tried to push himself up. "None of you can. Never. You stupid _**MAN.**_"

The Lord's eyes blazed.

"SO JUST SHUT UP AND DIE."

Spears of darkness flew through the air, and the breath flew from Superman in a wordless gasp as they impaled through his body.

* * *

_When the stars threw down their spears,  
And watered heaven with their tears,  
Did he smile his work to see?  
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

* * *

_

"…we're boned." Peregrine said.

"…someone with your intelligence can't think of a better word?" Roger said quietly.

"….sir, the shadow battalions have almost reached the shorelines…efforts to count them continue to prove fruitless." A Bulwark agent also said quietly.

"What's our strength?"

"22 percent at best."

* * *

"…I wish Cyborg was here. He'd tell us just how screwed we are." Beast Boy said, looking at the approaching endless legions of Abhorred: their battle site had been fairly close to the shoreline.

"I'm good with that." Savior said.

"At least it's our villain and not whiny Emo-Boy." Gauntlet said. Savior glanced at the blonde-haired teen for a moment, then looked back at his leader.

"Well Robin?"

"…not exactly very fair." Robin said. "Maybe I should hop on one foot."

Despite themselves, the Titans grinned bleakly, and readied to fight to the end.

* * *

"So we're down to crumbs when it comes to forces, this ship can float and not much else, we're facing down a possibly-stronger than ever army immeasurable in its scope, and the shadow creature just broke our best hope with the sheer depths of his own black hatred." Peregrine said.

"…that seems to be the assessment." Roger said.

"I do have a better word. We're f-"

* * *

Superman, for all his invincibility, had been stabbed before. This didn't feel the same. The blades felt…off, softer. Not much damage…but the pain. So much pain, in his body, mind, and soul.

"How to say it…'let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings.'" The Lord said, having finally calmed back down. "Do you know the truest sorrow of all this, alien? This is all your fault." The Lord said, before snapping his hands towards Superman and sending burning, ripping arcs of black energy into him. Superman writhed under the attack, gasping air through clenched teeth.

Déjà vu…what was the Lord missing, something still dancing in his head.

"You chose to be a hero. You chose to set the standard. You chose the burden that you can't save everyone. Look at what that burden is, alien. Look at what you can't stop. That's what you make, in the end. All your good deeds and kindness and altruism, all nothing in the face of what _**YOU FAILED TO STOP!"**_ The Lord said, sending more burning arcs into Superman. "That's what you'll end up with. Your failures will consume everything. You will never be rid of me, or my lesser ilk. Your foolishness breeds us. You better damn well learn to LIVE WITH US, or let someone who knows how you've failed clean away ALL YOUR DAMN WASTE."

More burning energy, this time sending Superman dragging across the ground, his body still impaled by the phased darkness blades.

"Even those you inspired failed. So many heroes, acting like anything but. Further corrupting others like Alexander and that child. Your standard is aberrant. It must be removed." The Lord said, sending more energy into Superman. "And those you did truly inspire? Who took after you? Who took up arms in the battle against 'evil'? Well, you saw what that got them. You made them, Superman. You killed them as well. I was only the catalyst."

Superman's whole body went rigid. The Lord made a dismissive noise and let Superman have it with twice the power of before. Superman was driven into the ground, unable to rise.

"When it comes to being broken, not everyone can be a man of steel." The Lord said. "It's time for a man of tomorrow. And it's not you. Join the failures of yesterday. DIE."

The energy exploded through Superman, arcing in a constant, uninterrupted storm from the Lord's hands. Superman felt it burning through him. So much pain…so much pain.

Then he began to stand up. The Lord's eyes narrowed.

"No, not this time. YOU'RE DONE!" The Lord snarled, as he increased the destroying energy even more.

Superman did not fall back to his knees. Instead, he seized one of the black spears impaled through him and, with a snarling cry, ripped it free.

"No. This isn't how it works! THIS IS NOT THE WAY IT WORKS!" The Lord yelled, increasing the energy even more. The ground began to melt around Superman, but he did not stop, as he pulled each spear from his body with a gasp of agony.

"DAMN YOU!" The Lord yelled, as Superman began to walk. "No! Damn you, die! You're just mortal flesh! EVERYTHING DIES!" The Lord snarled, as his floating cape behind him shifting and snapped open, fanning out into a network of blades that fired forth its own burning energy. Superman was driven backwards from the renewed attack, his feet dragging on the ground for a bit before he stopped.

He began to walk again, moving forward.

"Damn it, DIE! YOU WILL DIE!" The Lord yelled, hammering Superman with everything he had, arcing energy erupting off of him and turning the area into a windstorm of debris.

Superman pressed forward.

"You can't…even you…it doesn't…even…if…DAMN IT DIE!!!!!!!!!"

"No." Superman said.

With that, the energy finally cut off, as the Lord's arms slumped down. Even he couldn't keep up that kind of energy barrage forever.

"…I never claimed to save everyone. Anyone who does is a god or a madman." Superman said quietly. "It's disingenuous to blame us for whatever shaped you and those like you; do you know how often I face costumed lunatics killing people and blaming me for it? They have free will. How often do they blame Lex Luthor, or Darkseid? Never. Why? Because they know that, unlike their kind, _we_ are willing to uphold what is good, and take responsibility for protecting it. Blaming Lex Luthor gives no satisfaction, because the fallen of the world would say 'So?' You inherently want to take advantage of our better natures for your pity party. You'd get nothing from the fallen of the world. Not even an origin. I hear people blaming Batman for the maniacs running around Gotham all the time. It's not true. Heroes don't create villains. It's the other way around. People like you, who have abandoned the pretense of the right, force us to protect the right. And we will."

"…then _suffer the consequences."_ The Lord snarled, as crackling black power exploded on the Lord's hands.

Superman's punch stopped him before he could fire once more. The Lord flipped a few times before pistoning back at Superman.

"YOU AND ALL THOSE WHO DIED IN VAIN FOR IT!"

"It's a hard fight!" Superman yelled, blocking the Lord's blow. "Some people BREAK!"

The punch smashed the Lord through another building.

"Should they have never been heroes? That's a ridiculous thing to say!" Superman said. "You think all the good done by those who have been unable to shoulder the burden is undone when they retire? It's an insult to their sacrifice!"

"THEY DIED FOR NOTHING!" The Lord yelled back, flying in as he furiously slashed at the Lord with rapid strikes. "WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT!?"

"It's the same thing I said before! I can't claim to save everyone!" Superman said, dodging the attacks. "All I can do is what I can do! If a young hero wants my help, I'll give it! If they can't hack it, I'll be the first to say that they should retire or take a breather! This whole argument is all wasted, in the end. I know your type!"

The Lord kicked Superman in the side. Superman grabbed his leg and swung the Lord away, hurling him into the air and blasting him with more heat vision.

"The Darkseids of the world, the Lex Luthors, even the Toymen. You try and argue against the good, but the only way you can do so is to redefine the good on your own terms."

The Lord fell upon Superman, slashing and kicking. Superman did not yield. He refused to yield another step. He wasn't even breathing hard. Questions slashed through the Lord's mind: it kept digging at him, what was he not getting, what did his finger keep missing…

"The good becomes weakness, or a hindrance, or a lie, instead of being the only thing that makes human life possible! But you can't see it that way! Hell, I doubt you're even paying serious attention…"

The Lord flew backwards, energy erupting on his hands. Superman did not give chase, speaking instead.

"Which is fine."

The Lord slammed his hands together and blasted Superman with a building-sized blast.

When the energy cleared, Superman had not moved.

"…it's been a bad time for us all. You're making it worse." Superman said, closing a fist.

"…what the devil _are you?" _The Lord said.

"You know."

The Lord screamed, as a massive storm of black and white energy began crackling and surging all around him, the clouds thundering above and the still-intact buildings of the surrounding square miles beginning to crumble from the force coming off of him.

"You _know_, for all your talk of humanity as though you aren't part of us, as though you were guiltless of the same cruelty and shortsightedness that afflicts us!" Superman said over the rising cacophony. "You know! I will show no shame in it! I will say it proudly!"

"DIE ALIEN!!!!!!!!!!!" The Lord screamed, lancing at Superman.

"Alien? No."

Superman charged in turn, as he fully opened himself to his power, and the crusade it would never abandon.

"**I-AM-**_**A MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**_

The Lord lashed out.

Superman's blow flew truer.

Every single crumbling building in the surrounding three square miles shattered to pieces, the shockwave of the blow smashing another massive crater into the ground below Superman. Every hero and villain in Metropolis was nearly deafened once more. On the _Achilles,_ Peregrine's scanner exploded in his hands.

The Lord smashed into the ground so hard it registered on seismometers in California. A massive line of rapid-burst smoke eruptions ripped across Metropolis and into its bay, the dirt and stone explosions transforming into fountaining water geysers, the path ripping through the middle of the Abhorred and continuing on for another mile before it smashed into an underwater mountain and shattered it in a gigantic plume of earth and liquid.

A moment later, the Abhorred all vanished, the endless army exploding into a cloud of black mist and disappearing into nothing.

Superman lowered his arm, floating on the air.

"That is all."

Then he fell to earth, unable to fly any more.

* * *

"…he did it. He broke the connection."

Peregrine and Roger broke from their stunned observation to look at Ermine Chalk, who gingerly stepped forward onto the bridge, holding her head lightly.

"The shadow creature has been separated from his magical power source." Chalk continued after neither Roger or Peregrine spoke. "If he's not destroyed already, he can't have much strength left."

"Good of you to join us." Peregrine blurted out after a few seconds of silence.

"Sorry, next time I'll just ignore the horrific dark magic pulse that could have easily fried my brain, herr doctor." Chalk said.

"Not now you two. Chalk, you knew what was needed?"

"I am psychic, oh captain my captain."

"…well. It's finally over then…" Peregrine said. "…we may not have been in such a bad spot, after all. From the way his army vaporized, I now theorize the creature may have stretched his power so thin that the entities would have likely crumbled after one or two hits. Considering the reputation the heroes of this world have, I…er…" Peregrine trailed off: the whole bridge was giving him dirty looks. "…so. The alien lived up to his reputation despite it all."

"He's never let us down before. Despite the fact we tend to forget that at times." Roger said. "Dispatch someone to retrieve him and take him…well, there's nowhere safe really. But the Achilles wouldn't be such a bad spot."

"What about the shadow creature?" Peregrine said.

"I haven't forgotten Murphy yet." Roger said, as he touched his hand to his communicator. "All remaining CESTUS units, move towards enemy impact zone and finish him off! He probably has some power left, so show caution!"

* * *

"…what just happened?" Argent said, lowering her arms as her glowing energy talent vanished.

"…the best and the brightest took out the bottom of the barrel." Gauntlet said, as he lowered his own arm, grinning. "Man, sometimes I love this business."

"…aw man." Beast Boy said. Before he could continue, Terra flew into his arms.

"WHERE DID YOU GO YOU JACKASS?!" Terra yelled through blooming tears.

"Sorry Terra. Remember when we were talking underground, with Raven's mental link, and we were debating plans to keep ourselves from panicking about the situation? Well, I had an idea, and I was going to tell Robin when I dug myself out, but our communication was broken and…"

"Save it for the debriefing Beast Boy. Let's get our wounded to help and then see if there's anything left to do. Then, we take a nice long nap." Robin said.

"Agreed Robin. Raven, do you think you have enough in the tank to help some of them out?" Savior said.

"It was never a matter of not enough energy, Savior. It was…was…"

Savior looked up as Raven trailed off. To his shock, she had gone nearly as white as his hair.

"Raven? What's wrong?!"

"…I was scanning…to see if…oh no." Raven whispered. "No…"

* * *

Death was a strange thing.

In the simplest terms, death occurred for a sentient creature when its brain ceased function. This could be done by damaging the brain itself, or robbing it of what it needed to stay alive, and what the brain needed most was air. In tetrapod respiratory systems, air was taken in by the lungs, and then absorbed by the bloodstream while the lungs expelled the carbon dioxide waste products created by the process. The bloodstream then cycled the oxygen through the body, driven by the efforts of the pumps of the heart, giving it to all the body's cells including the brain. If the human body lost too much blood, if the lungs were too severely damaged, or if the heart was damaged or suffered a trauma strong enough to make it cease operation, the brain stopped getting oxygen, and shortly died, a condition known as cerebral hypoxia.

There were, of course, exceptions…

Rapid inhalation and exhalation of air, known as hyperventilation, could flood the body with excess oxygen: this unbalanced the oxygen/carbon dioxide equilibrium the body contained, which could lead to problems, but it also could allow a person to go without air for longer periods of time than if they simply ceased breathing voluntarily outright…

Submersion in ice-cold water while drowning allowed hypothermia to occur at the same time, a condition that significantly lowered metabolism and restricted energy loss, which had, in certain cases, led to a delayed condition of hypoxia that human beings had been revived from considerably longer than if they'd stopped breathing on land. It worked far better with the underdeveloped brains of children though, as the brain was still hardwiring itself…

In the case of an alien organism, which had demonstrated the capacity for its bloodstream to hold far more oxygen than the norm, combined with a body capable of withstanding the vacuum of space travel for periods of time…

Cardiac arrest may occur in such a creature. Said condition may also induce unconsciousness and respiratory arrest as it would in known 'normal' tetrapods. With limited blood oxygenation, brain death will occur shortly afterward.

Death, however, was often anything but normal, as Superboy-Prime opened his eyes.

* * *

So cold…

Prime didn't know what was wrong. He'd been fighting the bastard shadow creature, and then there was darkness. Terrified, he'd fought his way back, fought with all his might…now he was awake again, wasn't he?

His muscles felt like weights, his body barely able to move. His chest, something was wrong with his chest. There was no sensation within, no motion. He could barely inhale, and yet he didn't feel like he was suffocating, he just felt numb…so cold…

Fear exploded through his body. He couldn't go back into the darkness.

Somehow, he moved. Somehow, the last traces of oxygen in Superboy-Prime's muscles let him stand up. A normal creature could have never done it, but Prime possessed a strength beyond any concept of normal.

A strength that was almost gone.

If but for one move, as with a ragged, breathless scream, Prime lifted one arm and punched himself in the chest as hard as he could.

* * *

"…sir, we just got a strange force ripple on screen while scanning for the shadow entity. It's not coming from the direction of the impact crater though…" A Bulwark agent said.

"…Chalk, scan in that direction, it would really suck if someone ELSE decided to crash the party." Roger said.

"Sir, we've reached the impact site. Scanning for the shadow creature's signature…" Roger's communicator said.

"Make sure all frequencies are scanned. We aren't going in blind. And someone tell me the rail gun's sta-"

Chalk's gasp of shock cut the order off as Roger whirled towards her. She was a strong, grounded woman. She was not easy to scare.

"What happened?"

"…how…"

* * *

"Careful men. This bastard's killed a lot of good people, let's not…" Bulwark Sergeant Scottfield Roderick was saying when the black hand exploded out from the small rocky island.

A second later, black energy exploded from it, arcing out towards all the CESTUS units. They had no time to react.

As the units collapsed, a ragged whisper issued from the ground, half seething hate and half grudging admiration.

"Turns all his weaknesses into strengths…heh heh heh heh ha…"

* * *

"What, Chalk, what is it?"

"Sir, we-AAAUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" The voice in Roger's ear cried out before shorting out completely.

"Sergeant Roderick! Report in!" Roger said, but only hissing static answered him.

"…the Kryptonian child…" Chalk said.

"…Superboy?" Peregrine said.

"No. PRIME."

* * *

"…ah…ah ha…ha…" Prime breathlessly laughed. He could feel it again, the slow throbbing beat.

He'd re-started his own heart.

The numbness began to fade away, as Prime found he could breath again, as his lungs now had fresh blood to deliver oxygen too. He took a few breaths before laughing again, a soft mirth that built to a roaring madness.

"YOU CAN'T KILL ME, STUPID! YOU CAN'T KILL ME!"

* * *

"You can't kill me." The Lord hissed as he pulled himself up from below. Damn that alien. He'd hit the Lord so hard he'd overwhelmed the Lord's concentration and broken his link to the Sorceress, a process so complicated the preparatory spells had taken nearly ten hours. He wouldn't be able to merge again, and by himself he had hardly any power left…

HE HAD ENOUGH!

They would pay. THEY WOULD ALL PAY.

* * *

"…oh no." Raven said.

"What? What NOW?" Terra cried.

"…The Lord's not down either."

"…you just had to ask, didn't you baka?" Kurai said.

* * *

"I'm beginning to long for the good old days of April 2006 back in Chapter 10." Roger said quietly.

* * *

"Haha…hahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Prime laughed, as he floated back up. "Here I come, you false heroes!"

* * *

"Here I come, you bastards." The Lord snarled, willing himself into the air. "This world…"

* * *

"THIS WORLD…!"

* * *

"_**IS MINE!"

* * *

**_

_Tyger! Tyger! burning bright  
In the forests of the night,  
What immortal hand or eye  
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

* * *

_

Beast Boy did not hear the twin voices speaking in union. It didn't really matter, as he turned towards the group.

"All right guys. Who wants to save the world?"


End file.
